Flitwick East in Central Bedfordshire Early years summary

Local area: Flitwick East

Local authority: Central Bedfordshire

Summary

Flitwick East (E02003613) is part of Central Bedfordshire local authority (view on map). Flitwick East has an approximate population of 5,700 people, of which 5.2% are children 5 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

Flitwick East neighbours Houghton Conquest & Clophill, Ampthill & Millbrook, Flitwick West, and Westoning, Harlington & Silsoe.

Headlines for early years in Central Bedfordshire

The data below is only available at local authority level

  • 0.3% of pupils under 1 are classed as 'children looked after' in Central Bedfordshire compared to 0.6% nationally. This places it in the bottom 10% of areas with 'children looked after' in this age group
  • 0.2% of pupils aged 1 to 4 are classed as 'children looked after' in Central Bedfordshire compared to 0.4% nationally. This places it in the bottom 10% of areas with 'children looked after' in this age group
  • The oral health measure indicated a lower than national proportion of visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds (15% compared to 22%), placing it in the bottom 10% of all areas in England. However only 8.6% of children were examined
Guidance and data sources

Local area pages are based on the middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs) distributed across the country. MSOAs comprise between 2,000 and 6,000 households and have a resident population of, generally, between 5,000 and 15,000 people. MSOAs fit within local authorities. For each area, descriptive statistics are compared with local authority and national averages. For more information about MSOAs, please visit the Office for National Statistics website.

The data displayed is sourced from:

Deprivation

Flitwick East is the 20th least deprived area in Central Bedfordshire (out of 33) with 27% of children living in low-income families, compared to 25% across Central Bedfordshire and 38% nationally.

Data source

Provider information

Registered childcare providers

Flitwick East has 11 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in Flitwick East
All childcare providers 11
Childminders 7
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 4

There have been no inspections of childcare providers in Flitwick East since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Data source

Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Central Bedfordshire’s local authority children’s services

These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements:

  • to help and protect children, and enable families to stay together and get the help they need
  • the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home
  • the arrangements for permanence for children who are looked after, in stable, loving homes, including adoption
  • the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Inspection type Inspection start date Overall effectiveness Impact of leaders Help and protection Children in care Care leavers
ILACS Short Inspection 10 March 2025 Good Good Good Good Good

Data source

Area SEND inspection of Central Bedfordshire Local Area Partnership

The purpose of an area SEND inspection is to:

  • provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
  • where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
Inspection outcome

Central Bedfordshire local area partnership has not yet been inspected under the current area SEND framework.

Data source

Joint targeted area inspection of Central Bedfordshire local authority

The agencies for these inspections can include the police, children’s social care, probation services, education and relevant health services. Inspectors will also evaluate how local agencies work with education and childcare providers. The focus of these inspections is how effectively the local safeguarding partners work together at the practice and strategic levels.

Theme Inspection start date Link
There have been no JTAI inspections for this local authority.

Data source

Early years population

Contents

Percentage of Flitwick East population by age group

Table showing percentage of Flitwick East population by age group

% in Flitwick East % in Central Bedfordshire % National
Age 5 and under 5.2% 7.4% 6.4%
Under 1 year 0.8% 1.1% 1.0%
1 year 0.6% 1.2% 1.0%
2 years 1.1% 1.3% 1.1%
3 years 0.9% 1.2% 1.1%
4 years 0.9% 1.3% 1.1%
5 years 0.9% 1.3% 1.1%

Data source

Local authority context

Early years pupil premium

In Central Bedfordshire, 4.9% of children are receiving the early years pupil premium, compared to 5.1% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of children in receipt of early years pupil premium

Table showing the percentage of children in receipt of early years pupil premium

Number in Central Bedfordshire % in Central Bedfordshire % National
Receiving pupil premium 1,152 4.9% 5.1%

Data source

Children looked after

The percentage of 'children looked after' in Central Bedfordshire is 0.3% for under 1 year olds and 0.2% for 1 to 4 year olds. The national average is 0.6% for under 1 year olds and 0.4% for 1 to 4 year olds.

0.3% of pupils under 1 are classed as 'children looked after' in Central Bedfordshire compared to 0.6% nationally. This places it in the bottom 10% of areas with 'children looked after' in this age group. In addition, 0.2% of pupils aged 1 to 4 are classed as 'children looked after' in Central Bedfordshire compared to 0.4% nationally. This places it in the bottom 10% of areas with 'children looked after' in this age group.

Contents

Table showing percentage of children looked after in Central Bedfordshire

Number in Central Bedfordshire % in Central Bedfordshire % National
Children looked after (under 1 year) 10 0.3% 0.6%
Children looked after (aged 1 to 4 years) 28 0.2% 0.4%

Percentage of children looked after in Central Bedfordshire

Data source

Special educational needs and disabilities in state-funded schools

This data is taken from the school census data for children aged 5 and under with special educational needs and disabilities in state-funded settings.

In Central Bedfordshire, 3.6% of children aged 5 and under receive SEN support in state-funded settings and 1.4% have an EHC plan, compared to 4.5% and 1.4% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of children with SEND in state-funded settings by age group

Table showing percentage of children with SEND in state-funded settings by age group

Number in Central Bedfordshire % in Central Bedfordshire % National
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 838 3.6% 4.5%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 27 0.2% 0.3%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (3 years) 132 3.4% 3.7%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (4 years) 274 6.6% 9.2%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (5 years) 405 10% 12%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 325 1.4% 1.4%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 0 0% 0%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (3 years) 10 0.3% 0.3%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (4 years) 134 3.2% 3.1%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (5 years) 181 4.4% 4.8%

Data source

Education, health and care plans

This data is taken from the local authority level data for children aged 5 and under issued with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in Central Bedfordshire.

In Central Bedfordshire, 1.6% of children aged 5 and under have an EHC plan, compared to 1.6% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of children with an EHCP in Central Bedfordshire by age group

Table showing percentage of children with an EHCP in Central Bedfordshire by age group

Number in Central Bedfordshire % in Central Bedfordshire % National
Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) 365 1.6% 1.6%
Total: Children with an EHCP (under 2 years) 0 0% 0%
Total: Children with an EHCP (3 years) 21 0.5% 0.8%
Total: Children with an EHCP (4 years) 144 3.5% 3.4%
Total: Children with an EHCP (5 years) 200 4.8% 5.0%

Data source

Early years funded takeup

In Central Bedfordshire, take-up of funded early years places is 70% for 2-year-olds, 87% for 3-year-olds, and 93% for 4-year-olds, compared to 72%, 88%, and 93% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of eligible children taking up funded early years places

Table showing percentage of eligible children taking up funded early years places

Funded early years places for 2-year-olds Number of eligible 2-year-olds % of population aged 2 % take-up of funded places
Central Bedfordshire 585 15% 70%
National 119,598 19% 72%
Funded early years places for 3-year-olds Number of eligible 3-year-olds % of population aged 3 % take-up of funded places
Central Bedfordshire All 3-year olds are eligible 87%
National 88%
Funded early years places for 4-year-olds Number of eligible 4-year-olds % of population aged 4 % take-up of funded places
Central Bedfordshire All 4-year olds are eligible 93%
National 93%
The 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old funded places tables look different because they measure different things; funded places for 2-year-olds are only for children considered to be disadvantaged, while for 3- and 4-year-olds everyone is entitled to a funded place.

Data source

Children's overweight and obesity

In Central Bedfordshire, 20% of reception-age children are overweight or obese, compared to 24% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of reception-age children overweight or obese

Table showing percentage of reception-age children overweight or obese

Number in Central Bedfordshire % in Central Bedfordshire % National
Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) 700 20% 24%

Data source

Oral health

In Central Bedfordshire, 15% of children aged 5 have visible tooth decay (oral health issues) compared to 22% nationally.

The oral health measure indicated a lower than national proportion of visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds (15% compared to 22%), placing it in the bottom 10% of all areas in England. However only 8.6% of children were examined.

Contents

Percentage of 5-year-olds with visible tooth decay

Table showing percentage of 5-year-olds with visible tooth decay

Number examined in Central Bedfordshire % examined in Central Bedfordshire % in Central Bedfordshire % National
Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) 327 8.6% 15% 22%

Data source