Inspectors have given high marks to an authority's education service.

A report on social services later this month is also good.

Ofsted gave Brighton and Hove City Council the second highest possible rating.

It praised the council's support for early years education, backing for school improvement, the supply and quality of teachers, help for children from ethnic minority and travelling families, and promoting racial equality.

The report says academic results are improving with good support in literacy and numeracy at schools plus an improvement in GCSE results.

It says the council is "driven by an unswerving commitment to improve the quality and life chances of children, young people and families in Brighton and Hove".

The report also says Brighton and Hove has placed itself in the forefront of national developments in working with other agencies.

No areas were found to be unsatisfactory and 35 of the 46 areas looked at were rated as either good or very good.

Schools councillor Pat Hawkes said: "Both the Ofsted report and the social services inspection, which was also favourable, reflect the enormous commitment and dedication of our staff. But we know there are areas for improvement and we'll be working just as hard in the future to achieve top ratings in all areas."

The Ofsted report is published today and the report of the Commission for Social Care Inspection on April 26.

Thursday April 15, 2004