A GOVERNMENT probe has condemned Bradford Council’s handling of education.

A report into the local authority’s school improvement services, released by Ofsted, criticises the current state of education in the district – suggesting the council had been too soft in the past – but said a new direction taken by the authority was “a cause for optimism”.

The report, the first inspection of the council under a new Ofsted regime, highlights failings around pupil attendance, points out the district’s above average number of inadequate secondary schools and says the authority has not done enough to narrow the gaps between disadvantaged and other pupils across the district.

Inspectors spoke with council staff, headteachers and governors from council-run schools and academies in June, as well as visiting eight schools. They also looked at school performance reports, league tables and school improvement strategies.

Despite the criticism, inspectors said headteachers and governors they spoke to appreciated there was a “step-change” happening in the council, and all children in the district were “in the council’s line of sight” – whether they went to a council-run school or an academy.

Education leaders at the local authority say they recognise the issues raised by Ofsted and are pleased inspectors supported their plans for improvement.

The watchdog suggested the council gets tougher on underperforming schools by issuing warnings. It says the authority has previously depended too much on “informal, pre-warning notices”.

The report adds: “The local authority has been too slow in driving improvement in the attainment, progress and attendance of pupils, and in narrowing the gaps between disadvantaged and other pupils across the district."

The council commissioned a report last year by education expert, Professor David Woods, who helped turn around London’s underperforming education system, as well as being an advisor for Birmingham schools.

His work highlighted several actions that needed to be taken to improve school standards, including quickening the pace at which the various education improvement boards in Bradford act.

Councillor Susan Hinchliffe, the executive member for education on the council, said: “It [Ofsted] recognises that improvement has not happened as fast as it should have, but the council has also recognised this.

“There is a new plan in place. It will take a lot of work but we have a clear plan of what needs to be done."

When asked why it had taken so long for the council to tackle education issues, she added: “We have fully accepted the pace of improvement has not been fast enough.

“There have been incremental improvements in the past, but what Ofsted has confirmed this time is it has found evidence of a step-change in our approach and in our urgency to address under-performance.

“We have wasted no time since the Professor Woods report in implementing those changes recommended and that’s what Ofsted has seen this time.”