THE head of Ofsted has praised Wigan Council and the borough’s schools in his latest annual report.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of the education watchdog, has released his third annual report and a number of regional reports.

For the third year in a row, the borough’s primary and secondary schools are singled out for their good performance and the council is praised for the support it provides to schools and other education institutions.

Sir Michael said Wigan Council provides ‘excellent challenge, support and intervention’ and praised the authority for using its ‘powers to intervene and bring about improvement’. The percentage of primary schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted in the borough is currently 89 per cent – compared to 80 per cent across England.

For secondary schools, the percentage of schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted is 79 per cent compared with 71 per cent in England, giving the borough an average of 88 per cent compared to an 80 per cent average across the rest of the country.

Clr Jo Platt, Wigan Council cabinet member for children and young people, said: “It’s amazing the chief inspector of Ofsted has described Wigan Council as one of the best authorities in the country but no surprise to me.

“We know we have fantastic schools in the borough and brilliant council staff working to raise standards but for such an important figure in the educational establishment to recognise this is just wonderful.

“I’m exceptionally proud of our schools, our staff and our students. I’m delighted Ofsted continues to recognise the improvements we are making in education and the excellent record of results we have.

“We want all children in Wigan Borough to have the best possible start in life so a lot of hard work goes into driving up standards and making sure no child is left behind.”