Safeguarding context · Local authority
Bedford: the safeguarding context
- 85 schools and colleges
- England
- Bedford Borough Safeguarding Children Partnership
Evidence of the local risks around every school and college in Bedford, ready for your policy, your staff and your inspector.
What children's services, the health service and the police record across Bedford, the local safeguarding arrangements, and the 85 open schools and colleges in the Department for Education register for Bedford, England. Everything here describes the area. None of it rates a school or college.
£149 for 12 months
First finding · Harm and risk outside the home (ROTH) across Bedford
Across Bedford, children's social care recorded child sexual exploitation, gangs, going missing, sexual abuse by another child and physical abuse by another child in a higher share of assessments than across England.
This describes what social workers record for the whole authority, never a school, a college or any child, and a higher share can reflect better identification as easily as more harm.
Order the report for a school or college in Bedford
£149 per school, college or campus for 12 months, the same however many an order holds. Choose it from the list below and order from its page. What's included.
Local safeguarding arrangements
Bedford is covered by Bedford Borough Safeguarding Children Partnership.
- Report a concern about a childbedford.gov.uk
- Bedford threshold document (continuum of need)safeguardingbedfordshire.org.uk
- Request early help in Bedfordbedford.gov.uk
- Allegations against staff: the Bedford designated officer (LADO)bedford.gov.uk
- Prevent referral route in Bedfordbedford.gov.uk
- Family hubs in Bedfordbedford.gov.uk
- The partnership's procedures, guidance and trainingsafeguardingbedfordshire.org.uk
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Links checked 1 November 2026.
What is recorded across Bedford
Published figures for the whole authority, or the police force area it sits in, beside the national figure named in each table where one is published. Counts below three are shown as fewer than 3.
What children's services record, year to 31 March 2025, the latest year published
Children in need, child protection plans and the factors social workers identified at assessment across Bedford. The whole authority, never a school, college or setting.
| Measure | Bedford | England | Compared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children in need at 31 March | 346.0 per 10,000 children (1,539 children) | 330.3 | Similar |
| Children on child protection plans at 31 March | 31.7 per 10,000 children (141 children) | 40.6 | Lower |
| Child criminal exploitation | 0% of assessments | 3.2% | Not compared |
| Child sexual exploitation | 4.5% of assessments | 2.4% | Higher |
| Gangs | 3% of assessments | 1.7% | Higher |
| Going missing | 7% of assessments | 3.3% | Higher |
| Trafficking | 0.6% of assessments | 0.4% | Not compared |
| Sexual abuse by another child | 7% of assessments | 2.5% | Higher |
| Physical abuse by another child | 7.6% of assessments | 3% | Higher |
| Domestic abuse, the child as victim | 15.5% of assessments | 11.3% | Higher |
| Domestic abuse, a parent or carer as victim | 32.1% of assessments | 31.7% | Similar |
| Self-harm | 6.8% of assessments | 5% | Higher |
| The child's mental health | 18% of assessments | 17.6% | Similar |
| Drug misuse by the child | 3.6% of assessments | 4.8% | Lower |
| Alcohol misuse by the child | 1.3% of assessments | 2.1% | Lower |
| Socially unacceptable behaviour | 8.7% of assessments | 7% | Higher |
| Neglect | 30.1% of assessments | 17.6% | Higher |
| Emotional abuse | 34.7% of assessments | 19% | Higher |
Department for Education, Children in need, reporting year 2025.
Young people's health and youth justice
Published figures for Bedford against England; higher or lower is the publisher's own significance test.
| Measure | Period | Bedford | England | Compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital admissions for self-harm, ages 10 to 24 | 2023/24 | 198.2 per 100,000, age-standardised | 266.6 | Lower |
| Hospital admissions for violence, including sexual violence, all ages | 2022/23 - 24/25 | 29.5 per 100,000, age-standardised | 31.9 | Similar |
| First-time entrants to the youth justice system, ages 10 to 17 | 2025 | 136.8 per 100,000 aged 10 to 17 | 127.1 | Similar |
| Hospital admissions for substance misuse, ages 15 to 24 | 2022/23 - 24/25 | 43.2 per 100,000, age-standardised | 39 | Similar |
| Hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions, under 18 | 2021/22 - 23/24 | 15 per 100,000 under 18 | 22.6 | Similar |
| 16 and 17 year olds not in education, employment or training, or not known | 2025/26 | 4.1% of 16 and 17 year olds | 5.8% | Lower |
| Children under 16 in relative low income families | 2024/25 | 17.8% of children under 16 | 19.8% | Lower |
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Fingertips public health profiles.
Domestic abuse, year ending March 2025, the latest year published
Police-recorded domestic abuse and MARAC cases for the Bedfordshire police force area, the force area the authority sits in.
| Measure | Bedfordshire | England and Wales | Compared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes recorded by the police | 20.4 per 1,000 people | 21.8 | Similar |
| Domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police | 11.5 per 1,000 people | 13.2 | Lower |
| Cases discussed at multi-agency risk assessment conferences (MARACs) | 49.6 per 10,000 adult women | 50.2 | Similar |
Office for National Statistics, Domestic abuse in England and Wales data tool.
Each school's or college's report sets these figures out chapter by chapter, beside the picture around its own site, and writes what they mean into the policy, the staff briefing and the report to governors, trustees or the proprietor.
Questions about safeguarding in Bedford
Which safeguarding partnership covers Bedford?
Bedford is covered by Bedford Borough Safeguarding Children Partnership. Its procedures, threshold guidance and training are published at https://safeguardingbedfordshire.org.uk/.
How do I report a concern about a child in Bedford?
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. Otherwise the council's page for reporting a concern about a child is https://www.bedford.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/children-and-families/safeguarding-children-harm-and-child-protection-0. Staff in a school or college should follow their own procedure and tell the designated safeguarding lead.
What do children's services record about harm and risk outside the home (ROTH) in Bedford?
Across Bedford, children's social care recorded child sexual exploitation, gangs, going missing, sexual abuse by another child and physical abuse by another child in a higher share of assessments than across England. These figures describe the whole authority, never any school, college or child, and a higher share can reflect better identification as easily as more harm.
Schools and colleges in Bedford
Each page describes the context around that school or college: the local arrangements, the places children and young people pass and gather, and the neighbourhood around each site. Open a page to order its report.
Nursery schools (2)
Primary (54)
- Balliol Primary School
- Bedford Road Primary Academy
- Brickhill Primary School
- Broadmead Lower School
- Bromham CofE Primary School
- Camestone School
- Carlton CofE Primary School
- Cauldwell School
- Christopher Reeves CofE VA Primary School
- Cotton End Forest School
- Edith Cavell Primary School
- Eileen Wade Primary School
- Elstow School
- Goldington Green Academy
- Great Barford Church of England Primary Academy
- Great Denham Primary School
- Great Ouse Primary Academy
- Harrold Primary Academy
- Hazeldene School
- Kempston Rural Primary School
- King's Oak Primary School
- Kymbrook Primary School
- Lakeview School
- Livingstone Primary School
- Milton Ernest CofE Primary School
- Oakley Primary Academy
- Pinchmill Primary School
- Priory Primary School
- Putnoe Primary School
- Queen's Park Academy
- Ravensden CofE Primary Academy
- Renhold VC Primary School
- Riseley CofE Primary School
- Roxton Church of England Academy
- Scott Primary School & Nursery
- Shackleton Primary School
- Sharnbrook Primary
- Sheerhatch Primary School
- Shortstown Primary School
- Springfield Primary School
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School
- St James' CofE Academy
- St John Rigby Catholic Primary School
- St Lawrence Church of England Primary School
- The Hills Academy
- Thurleigh Primary School
- Turvey Primary School
- Ursula Taylor Church of England School
- Westfield Primary School
- Wilden CofE VA Primary School
- Willow Grove Primary School
- Wilstead Primary School
- Wixams Tree Primary Academy
- Wootton Primary School
Middle deemed secondary (1)
Secondary (12)
All-through (1)
Sixth forms and colleges (2)
Other schools and colleges (13)
Colleges with a campus in Bedford
College campuses in Bedford, whichever authority their college is registered in. Each campus page reads the context against Bedford, where the campus is.
Nurseries, pre-schools and clubs in Bedford
83 registered nurseries, pre-schools and out-of-school clubs on non-domestic premises in Bedford have their own pages, each describing the safeguarding context around the setting and the same authority figures as above. See every setting in Bedford.