Council backs plan to strengthen SEND support in Central Bedfordshire

Council backs plan to strengthen SEND support in Central Bedfordshire john.day Fri 07/08/2026 2:06pm 7 August 2026 Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive has backed plans to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with a greater focus on early help and inclusion in mainstream education. The Local SEND Reform Plan brings together the council’s existing improvement work with schools, health services, families and other partners into one programme designed to provide children with the right support at the right time. At the heart of the plan is a proposed Experts at Hand model, which will give schools and education settings more coordinated access to specialist professionals. This will include educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, mental health practitioners, SEND advisory teachers and parent navigators. These professionals will work more closely with schools to identify emerging needs, provide specialist advice and help put support in place before difficulties escalate. We expect to receive approximately £2.2 million of government funding for the first year of the programme.