Bedfordshire

You could be eligible for a concession 😱

The open days are running on Saturday 12 October from 9:30am and are designed to encourage children over 6 years old to try out a variety of instruments, with some sessions also open to older children and adults who already play an instrument.

Sessions include beginner ukulele, steel pans for beginners, ‘musical superstars’ for complete beginners, teaching people how to play as part of an ensemble, a folk group session and Inspiring Singers, to help people develop their singing voices.

Learners will be supported with expert guidance from Inspiring Music’s team of talented music tutors.

Councillor Steve Owen, our Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:

Learning to play music is a vital skill for young people, offering not only a creative outlet but also boosting confidence, teamwork, and discipline. Music has the power to inspire, and these open days are the perfect opportunity for young people to experience that first-hand.

Booking is required, but the sessions are free. To book, visit the link for the location you'd like to attend.

Book for Redborne Upper School, Ampthill

Book for Stratton Upper School, Biggleswade

Book for Vandyke Upper School, Leighton Buzzard

A new programme that aims to increase physical activity for people with special needs and disabilities has started in Bedford.

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The HAF programme funded the day trip to Great Yarmouth, which was organised by staff from Sandy and Biggleswade Children’s Centre.

Children and their parents were able to enjoy a memorable day at the beach, making the most of the sun, sea, and sand, as well as visiting an arcade and an aquarium.

One child who joined the trip excitedly said:

The best bit was going in the sea. A wave went over me!

A parent shared:

This was R’s first time seeing the sea. He was so excited.

Our HAF programme is designed for children eligible for benefit-related free school meals, which is a requirement from the Department for Education that funds the programme. All children who attend face to face activities are provided with a healthy hot meal and snacks.

Through the HAF programme, we funded activities for children throughout the summer holidays, including arts, crafts and creative activities, multi-activity clubs, outdoor and sports focussed sessions and youth and holiday clubs. There were also activities on offer especially for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Councillor Steve Owen, our Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:

Our HAF programme has been a huge help for families during the summer holidays, offering children fun, engaging activities that keep them active and learning while school is out. I hope it has also really made a difference to parents and carers; by ensuring their children have had free and fun things to do, and had access to a meal and snacks, helps take some of the financial pressure off families during the holidays.

It’s always a highlight to hear about the activities children and families have enjoyed, and I hope the day trip to Great Yarmouth provided families with the opportunity to create lasting memories.

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Stay safe: the importance of your annual gas safety check

Make sure your home is safe from carbon monoxide by keeping up with your annual gas safety check

You can’t smell it, taste it or hear it, but carbon monoxide can prove deadly if you’re exposed to enough of it. It's important that you allow us to carry out your annual safety check.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is caused by unmaintained gas, fossil fuel appliances, unchecked flues and chimneys. Every year, there are around 60 deaths from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in England and Wales.

For your safety, we need to make sure all gas and fossil fuel appliances are checked and serviced every year. Carrying out these checks greatly reduces the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Please help us make sure your home is safe by allowing our contractor to carry out safety checks in your home.

When you receive your appointment letter, make sure you are in to allow access to the contractor. If you can’t make the time and date, change it to a time that you can. If you miss your appointment, you could be putting yourself, your family and your neighbours at risk.

If you have any concerns about carbon monoxide poisoning or your gas safety check, please email: housing.repairsteam@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

If you do hear the alarm or think you may be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, leave the house immediately and contact the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.

Could you, or someone you know, be missing out on Pension Credit?

Pension Credit tops up pension income and can help with day-to-day living costs

If you are over State Pension age, you may be eligible to claim Pension Credit, even if you own your home or have savings.

You can claim as soon as you reach the qualifying age, which is now State Pension age.

Pension Credit is worth, on average, £3,900 per year and unlocks additional support including help with Council Tax, NHS dental care and for those over 75, a free TV licence.

Around a third of those eligible for Pension Credit are not claiming it and could be missing out on extra money each week.

Make sure you’re not missing out; check your eligibility online or by calling 0800 99 1234.

Are your contents insured?

Did you know that you need to make sure you have contents insurance for your home possessions?

As your landlord, we are responsible for making sure the building is insured, but the contents of your home are down to you. For example, if your water tank overflows, we are responsible for fixing and replacing the parts to rectify the issue, but if your furniture or carpets are damaged, these would be for you to replace.

We don’t like to think that bad things can happen to us, and we hope that it never does, but if it happens you may find yourself unable to replace what is lost. For peace of mind, we strongly recommend sourcing contents insurance.

Our annual report is now available

Do you want to know how your rent was spent?

Are you interested in seeing the investments we have made over the past year, and how we have invested in maintenance and improvements?

Our Annual Report for 2023 to 2024 is designed to share our performance and achievements, including our Tenant Satisfaction Measures. Read the report on our website.

If you have a question, or know of someone who would like the reports in a different format, lets us know by emailing: housinginfo@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

Problems where you live?

Tell us the issues where you live; is it dog poop, fly tipping, or do you have serious organised crime happening near you?

Please help us to improve safety for everyone in Central Bedfordshire. You can help shape the work of our Community Safety Partnership by sharing your views and completing our community safety survey.

We ask for your opinions every year to keep us up to date on safety issues in your community. We know that no one knows better what is happening in your immediate area, and with the information you can provide we can work together to make a difference, creating a safer environment for everyone.

Your opinions really do make a difference to help us focus our work where our residents want to see improvements.

You can also invite one of our friendly Safer Communities Officers to join your community groups for a visit to talk about keeping safe.

If you would like to contact our Community Safety Team, please email community.safety@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

Your complaints help us drive service improvements

How we're learning from mistakes and taking action

Working within the housing service is an incredibly rewarding job, the demand on the service can sometimes mean we fail to meet expected standards. When this happens, we recognise the fault, apologise, and identify learnings to improve the service. This is to make sure we do not make the same mistake again.

Being transparent and publishing our learnings is important so we can rebuild trust. Here are just two examples of real complaints we have upheld, and what we have done to put things right.

Complaint one

Residents were not notified in advance of works to remove asbestos from the communal area.

What we did to make sure this doesn’t happen again

The contractor has changed their process to ensure any residents effected by works involving asbestos removal receive a hand delivered letter. This will outline the works that are due to be completed and appropriate risks that may be associated (and how those risks will be lessened).

Complaint two

Failure of an officer to respond in a timely manner to a report of an escalation of domestic abuse.

What we did to make sure this doesn’t happen again

The service area has reviewed the written protocol to ensure there is a clear instruction to officers to maintain regular contact with any customer they are working with. In addition, the service manager will deliver a training session to ensure all staff members understand and can implement the written protocol.

If you are not happy with the service you have received and what to know more about how your complaint will be handled, visit our website or contact us on customer.relations@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

If you would like to take part in helping improve the services we provide, join our team of involved tenants and have your voice heard. Sign up online.

Dates for your diary

Do you have views to share and want to help us provide a better service?

Come and be part of our tenant involvement resident team, where you can join a focus group or take part in a survey. If you would like to have a chat with us, come along to one of our housing related hubs (dates listed below) to find out more.

October 2024

• Friday 4 October, 10am until 2pm, Older Persons Network Celebration, Rufus Centre Flitwick
• Tuesday 8 October, 1pm until 3pm, Housing Information Hub, Dunstable Library
• Wednesday 9 October, 10am until midday, Housing Information Hub, Houghton Regis Library
• Thursday 10 October, 10am until midday, we'll be visiting various areas of Caddington and knocking on doors to speak to residents
• Thursday 24 October, 5pm until 7pm, repairs focus group. This is taking place online, if you'd like to attend please sign up online

November 2024

• Monday 11 November, 1pm until 3pm, web page overview focus group, All Saints View, Houghton Regis. This event is invite only, if you'd like to attend please complete this form
• Tuesday 12 November, 10am until midday, Housing Information Hub, Leighton Buzzard Library
• Tuesday 19 November, 1pm until 3pm, Housing Information Hub, Dunstable Library
• Wednesday 27 November, 10am until midday, Housing Information Hub, Houghton Regis Library

If you want to be included in how we shape the service to better suit our tenants’ needs, we would love to hear from you. You can pick and choose what you would like to be involved in. Find out more about our tenant involvement schemes.

Your posts on social media will be used to train AI 🤯

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Helen Field, Workforce Development Manager for Children’s Services in the Council’s Learning and Development department, received the award in recognition of the support and training she has given to early years practitioners across Bedfordshire for the past 27 years.

The Nursery World Awards celebrates the innovative work of organisations and individuals from across the early years sector and is open to everyone involved in childcare and education. Winners are chosen by a panel of judges, who remarked on the ‘huge impact’ that Helen has made during her time training early years professional, as well as her passion and commitment for the early years and childcare sector.

High-quality training for early years practitioners is essential to equip them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to provide excellent care and education, so they can effectively support a child’s future learning and growth.

The judges noted that during her time as a trainer, Helen ‘has supported, inspired and motivated hundreds – if not thousands – of learners in progressing their careers. Some of these started working as volunteers and, with Helen’s support, gained childcare qualifications and went on to achieve senior roles within the sector.’

Of her award, Helen said:

I am passionate that the early years workforce is recognised for the hard work they do, and continue to access good quality training in times that are economically difficult. I was totally overwhelmed not only to be nominated and shortlisted, but then to win.

Councillor Steve Owen, Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:

The Nursery World Awards are well-respected in the sector, so winning Trainer of the Year is a prestigious recognition of Helen’s hard work and expertise. This award reflects not only Helen’s dedication to early years education but also the significant impact her training has on both practitioners and the children they care for. This is a proud moment for the Council and reflects our commitment to ensuring that every child has the best start in life. Quality care and education in a child’s early years helps them develop essential skills, and that’s why it’s so important that early years practitioners receive high quality training and support.

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This is part of around £100 million of investment in Biggleswade improving the area after our successful bid for nearly £70 million from the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) to develop the infrastructure and facilities needed to support the town’s growth.

The start of the school term earlier this month meant that most children who went to lower, middle and upper schools before the summer holidays returned to schools now in the two-tier education system.

Making the transition in time for the start of term were:

• Biggleswade Academy
• Caldecote Academy
• Dunton CofE Junior School
• Edward Peake CofE (VC) School
• Lawnside Academy
• Northill CofE Academy
• St Andrew’s CofE VC Primary School East
• St Andrew’s CofE VC Primary School West
• Stratton School
• Sutton V.A. Primary School
• Wrestlingworth CofE Infant School

Work took place during the school break, with a huge effort from the schools, us and builders to successfully ensure the schools could meet the primary and secondary school curriculum.

This work included remodelling of teaching spaces to provide the best learning environments for pupils and make sure classrooms meet the latest standards across the schools. Other examples of the improvement works included the playing field at Caldecote Academy, which was made larger with space for an under-9s football pitch.

At St Andrew’s, a new practical learning area was provided for classes such as cookery, art and design, while a new multi-use games area (MUGA) will allow for all year-round PE lessons, playing lots of different types of sports, as well as being used as playground space.

At Stratton School, as well as remodelling work to deliver a secondary school curriculum, a new computer suite was created, classrooms were refurbished, the sixth form area was relocated into the old library to create a new common room, grab-and-go food facilities. A new library was created in the atrium.

With £32 million of investment into education in the area, construction works will continue throughout 2025, providing more new classrooms, teaching spaces and other facilities at some schools.

Most notably, there will be significant improvements to support Edwards Peake School’s transition from a middle to a secondary school, where a a new sports hall and a new floodlit MUGA (multi-use games area) will be built.

That will allow the conversion of the existing sports hall to create six classrooms, for improved art and design-technology provision, plus a computer suite. Also, internal remodelling will create an enlarged English classroom and a smaller hall, that is larger than the existing one and will be multi-use so that pupils can use it for breakout groups, lunch, studying, presentation space and smaller assemblies.

Elsewhere, there will be a new practical space and a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) classroom at Caldecote Academy; a new teaching block at Dunton Junior School; a new teaching block and multi-use games area at Lawnside Academy; a new, larger hall at Northill CofE Academy: new teaching blocks at St Andrew’s East and West; a new SEND and additional resource provision (ARP) unit at Stratton School; and a new hall and multi-use games areas for Sutton Primary.

Councillor Steve Owen, our Executive Member for Families and Children, said:

We’re pleased to say that all the schools in Biggleswade changed to either primary or secondary schools for the start of the September school term with additional places delivered as we had set out.

This is a transformation project with significant investment which will ultimately make an incredible difference to the education of children and young people as it will reduce the number of disruptive transitions between schools from two to one. And, particularly as they work towards their GCSEs, it will allow them to focus on getting the best possible results with the help of teachers and staff that they are familiar with, inside brand-new and improved modern spaces.

We thank the schools for their continued cooperation as work continues on some of the more significant projects, but the start of term has already marked a huge milestone in the investment being used to help make improvements to the area.

In addition to the improvements to schools, other projects already completed or underway to improve the Biggleswade area include a new electricity substation that will more than double the power available to homes and businesses.

Earlier this year, a new safer way for people to cross the East Coast Main Line was unveiled with the opening of a new bridleway bridge at Lindsells Level Crossing, and a new transport interchange to improve rail and bus connections at the station now make it an important gateway into Central Bedfordshire.

Councillor Steve Watkins, our Executive Member for Assets, Business and Housing, said:

The Council’s successful Housing Infrastructure Fund bid is seeing millions of pounds of investment help to ensure Biggleswade is an even better place to live and work in the years ahead. We know that the more homes we build, the more resources we need to put in place to support local families, such as making more school places available which we have delivered ready for the new school year.

We have also future proofed Biggleswade by building a brand-new electricity substation, powering the town as it grows for many years to come. Not only that, but we’ve also looked at how people travel in and out of the town, building a new transport interchange – making travelling to and from Biggleswade on public transport as easy as possible.

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