Council proposes School Organisation Plan to secure future of education
Monday, 24 March 2025
Central Bedfordshire Councillors will next month be asked to decide on the first phase of a new five-year plan.
The plan will set out our strategic approach to ensuring every child in the area has access to high-quality school places now and in the future.
If approved by the Executive on 1 April, the School Organisation Plan 2025-2030 will carefully assess school capacity across the region, responding to key challenges such as demographic changes, new housing developments, and the ongoing transition from a three-tier to a two-tier education system. It also supports the expansion of SEN school places within local communities.
Councillor Steve Owen, Executive Member for Children’s Services and Community Safety, said:
We are pleased to put forward the first phase of this proposed plan, which sets out how we can meet the needs of families across Central Bedfordshire. Through careful area-by-area planning, we will provide new classrooms where required while repurposing surplus accommodation where necessary. The aim is to decisively accelerate the provision of special needs places in Central Bedfordshire and to accelerate the status of the Three Tier to Two Tier transition programme.
We have also pledged to work more closely with school leaders on school place planning, ensuring their expertise shapes future decisions. That work will lead to a further paper to their Executive this autumn detailing the early priorities for inclusion in the Capital Budget planning process.
If approved next month, further reports will be presented to the Executive over the next four months, outlining the next steps for prioritising projects and securing funding for the 2026/27 Capital Programme and beyond.