Not sure which school is best? Bedford council's new website aims to change all that

Bedford Borough Council is finalising its new ‘one-stop’ website offering advice for residents caring for young children – and it could go live this month.

The website, which will be called Best Start Bedford Borough, was announced at yesterday’s Children’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Monday, September 5) as part of a report on advice given to parents selecting a primary school for their child.

Chris Morris, acting chief officer for education, SEND, and schools, said the council envisages Best Start Bedford Borough as being a one-stop family directory for anyone who is caring for an under five in the borough, and the practitioners that work with them.

“Where you can get information about health, about education, child care choices, information about things that are on [locally].

“We’ve had lots of really positive co-production sessions with a range of parents.

“One of the sections that we’re really keen on are the early years education and child care sections.

“The options around choosing the right child care for you and your family, and it talks about the different options.

“You could [also] find information about childminders, nurseries, preschool, starting child care and starting school advice,” he said.

Councillor Nesreen Akhtar (Labour Party, Queen’s Park) asked how parents with little English would be able to access the website, and if the resources are available in different languages.

Mr Morris replied: “It will have the same technology that we use for our local offer website, which means that it can be translated into every language that Google Translate is able to do.”

Committee chair, councillor Jane Walker (Conservative, Clapham) asked when the site would be live.

Mr Morris said the council is aiming for the end of the month, but it is not waiting for it to be perfect first.

“We want people to come forward and say ‘have you thought about this’ or ‘this would be great’ or ‘you’ve forgotten this group’.

“If you launch something as if it’s perfect, people will pick flaws in it.

“If you launch something as if it’s already going to be something that we can grow and develop together, then there are people who will help us,” he said.

Sources

Children’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee 5/9/22 via YouTube livestream

Best Start Bedford Borough development website