OFSTED also carry out inspections of local education authorities - here's their verdict on local LEA performance ...

Reports on Lancashire’s LEA:

January 2000 inspection

February 2004 inspection

Reports on Bury’s LEA:

January 1999 inspection

January 2003 inspection

(You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the reports, which are PDF files. If you don't already have Acrobat Reader you can download it free from Adobe's website at www.adobe.com)