Serco to hand back school management

BRADFORD Council will be allowed to regain control of its education authority next summer more than 10 years after Ministers ordered it to bring in a private firm because of poor standards.

By The Newsroom

Published 29th Oct 2010, 11:24 BST

Updated 29th Oct 2010, 11:24 BST

Education Secretary Michael Gove has written to the council approving its plan to begin running the city's school services again from 2011.

The authority was ordered to hand over the responsibility to a private company after a damning Ofsted inspection in 2000 found it be failing.

Education Bradford was created by Serco to operate a 10-year 360m contract to raise standards in the city's schools. This ends next July.

Its original target was to bring pupils' exam results in line with the national average but its goals have been amended twice after it was decided this was unrealistic.