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Veto story: SEND family

“We're relocating to Nottingham for work and our child has special educational needs. We're looking at Cotgrave and Bingham. Before anything else we need to know which schools are nearby, whether there are specialist options, and that the roads are safe for the school run.”

What they chose in the interview

In the short interview they said they have a child of primary school age who needs SEND support and has an EHCP, and that schools and quiet are the priorities. They said road safety worries them, and that a failing local school would make them walk away.

So Veto looked at:

Schools in reach. Nearby schools, their latest Ofsted judgement and results, and how far each is from the address.

Specialist options. The nearest dedicated special schools and the mainstream schools with a resourced SEN unit, with distances.

How a place is arranged. The route to a place: through the local authority's SEND team, usually with an Education, Health and Care Plan, and who to contact.

A safe school run. Police-reported injury collisions within 500 metres, the traffic count on the nearest road and modelled traffic noise.

A calm place to live. Recorded crime nearby and air quality at the address.

Two addresses, same checks

Address one · Cotgrave, NG12

67/100

Fair match

  • Cotgrave Candleby Lane School, 721m away, was judged Outstanding by Ofsted in December 2023. 68% of children reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024.
  • The nearest dedicated special school is Ash Lea Academy, 976m away. The next, Venture Learning, is 6.3km away.
  • Ash Lea Academy also runs a resourced SEN unit, and four more mainstream schools run one, 6.3km to 7.0km away.
  • 3 police-reported injury collisions within 500m across 2022-2024, all slight. Modelled road noise is lower here.
  • 6 street-level crimes on record within 250m over 24 months.
  • Background air is clean (NO2 6.7 µg/m³).

Address two · Bingham, NG13

66/100

Fair match

  • Bingham Primary School, 161m away, had 80% of children reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024, and 20% the higher standard. Robert Miles Infant School, 655m away, was judged Good by Ofsted in March 2022.
  • The nearest dedicated special schools are Venture Learning and Ash Lea Academy, both 7.6km away.
  • Five mainstream schools run a resourced SEN unit, the closest Toot Hill School at 1.1km, judged Good in November 2022.
  • 4 police-reported injury collisions within 500m across 2022-2024: 2 serious and 2 slight. 2 involved a pedestrian.
  • The nearest counted road is about 860m away on the A46 and carries 40,716 motor vehicles a day. Modelled road noise is lower here.
  • Background air is clean (NO2 7.5 µg/m³).

What the Veto report made clear

Both addresses came back as a Fair match, 67 and 66, so one village against the other barely moves the score. What differs is behind it, and it is what this family asked about first. Cotgrave has an Outstanding primary and a special school, Ash Lea Academy, 976 metres away. Bingham has the stronger primary results, 80% reaching the expected standard against 68%, and a resourced SEN unit 1.1km away, but the nearest special schools are 7.6km away.

Because they said SEND matters, the report did more than rate schools. It listed the nearest dedicated special schools and the mainstream schools with a resourced SEN unit, with distances, and set out how a place is arranged, through the council's SEND team, usually with an Education, Health and Care Plan.

From the family and education section of the written report for address one:

Three relevant schools are nearby. The closest, Cotgrave Candleby Lane School, is 721m away and was rated Outstanding at its December 2023 inspection, with 68% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024 and 5% reaching the higher standard.

You told us SEND provision matters: Ash Lea Academy, a dedicated special school, is 976m away and also runs a resourced SEN unit at the same distance, with four further SEN units further afield (6.3km to 7.0km) … A place at a special school or SEN unit runs through the council's SEND team and usually an Education, Health and Care Plan, not through ordinary catchment, … start that conversation with the local authority early, since it runs on a different timetable to normal admissions.

More stories: Retired couple with pets, Parent of a student, Two homes in Leeds

An example story. The household is illustrative. The addresses are real reports run in October 2026, shown by postcode district only.