How much does children's care cost in Bedford?

None of the 22 services in Bedford publish a price, so you get a figure by ringing them: most quote by the hour after an assessment. The Homecare Association calculates that a provider needs to charge at least £34.42 an hour in 2026-27 to pay careworkers the statutory minimum for all their working time and run a compliant business. Two half-hour visits a day at that rate is roughly £481.88 a week. Bedford paid £21.00 an hour for the care it commissioned in 2023-24.

Will the council pay for children's care in Bedford?

Bedford can arrange and fund care after a needs assessment, which is free and which anyone can request. What you contribute depends on a separate financial assessment. It paid providers an average of £21.00 an hour in 2023-24, the 72nd lowest of 150 councils in England. The Homecare Association's minimum sustainable price is £34.42 for 2026-27. Those are different years, so treat the pair as context rather than a like-for-like gap. What a council pays shapes which agencies will take council-funded work at all.

Which children's care services in Bedford are rated best?

10 of the 22 services in Bedford carry a published CQC rating and 8 of those, 80%, are rated Good or Outstanding. 1 is rated Outstanding, the top grade: Bedford Supported Living. A rating describes the service on the day it was inspected, so check the report date as well as the word.

Is Bedford well served for children's care?

22 of the 109 home care services in Bedford are registered to support this, 20%, against 20% across England. That is about average. Registration is permission rather than specialisation, so it sets the size of the list rather than its quality.

How do I choose a children's care agency in Bedford?

Start with what the regulator publishes, then ask what it cannot tell you: who would actually visit, whether it is the same carer each time, what happens when that person is ill, and how long a call really lasts. 12 of the 22 services in Bedford carry no published verdict at all, so for those the questions are the only evidence you have. Every service here comes from the public register, and contacting one costs nothing: we take no fee and no commission.

Children's care in Bedford

There are 22 children's care services in Bedford registered with the Care Quality Commission. 10 carry a published CQC rating, and 8 of those are rated Good or Outstanding. The other 12 are unrated, which usually means they have not been inspected since registering rather than that anything is wrong. Privately arranged care is quoted by the hour, and the Homecare Association puts the minimum a provider must charge in 2026-27 at £34.42, or about £481.88 a week for two half-hour visits a day. The council paid providers £21.00 an hour in 2023-24, the 72nd lowest of 150 councils in England and 1% below the £21.19 median. That is 22 of the 109 home care services in Bedford. Registration sets what a service is allowed to provide. It does not say how well it does it, so read the inspection report and ring two or three before you decide.

What home care costs in Bedford

None of the 22 services in Bedford have published their rates here yet. Ring two or three and ask. Most will quote over the phone.

For comparison, the Homecare Association puts the minimum sustainable price at £34.42 an hour for 2026-27. That covers careworker pay at the statutory minimum for all working time including travel, mileage, wage-related costs, and the minimum cost of running a compliant care business.

How home care pricing works →

Bedford paid independent agencies a median of £21.00 an hour for the home care it commissioned in 2023-24, against the £34.42 the Homecare Association says it costs to deliver in 2026-27. What every council pays →

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Shared Lives Bedford

Bedford

Not yet rated · on the register 14 years

Caring for children (0 - 18yrs)
Caring for adults under 65 yrs
Learning disabilities

Hourly rate: not published
Pays carers for travel: not published
Shortest visit: not published

Children's care in Bedford

What home care costs in Bedford

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Children's care in Bedford: questions people ask

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