ENFIELD'S education bosses have been told by an independent watchdog that depsite improvements there is still work to be done to solve the school places crisis.

The report on the local education authority (LEA) by Ofsted, which follows a three-week inspection in November, has revealed that more than 100 children were without a secondary-school place at the start of the academic year last September. According to latest figures from the Enfield LEA, 70 young students aged 11 to 12 have still to find places.

The report said that action to solve the places gap had been "insular" and shown a lack of communication with neighbouring authorities.

But it heralded recent improvements stating that "effective links have now been made and are gathering momentum" despite the fact that currently there are students without a secondary-school place who are receiving limited education in local libraries.

In other areas, the Enfield LEA was found to have improved since the previous report in 2000, and overall was said to be "highly satisfactory".

The council's revamped Education Development Plan was praised for it's "clear sense of direction and demanding targets", a contrast to the initial plan which was criticised as "lacking ambition and focus".

In the latest report officers and councillors were said to have responded promptly to previous Ofsted recommendations. However, the report also highlighted inadequate communication between corporate bosses and schools, stating that it had left schools "anxious about future political direction".

Speaking on Monday, council leader Cllr Michael Rye applauded the work done since the last report by both the Labour and Conservative administrations, and said: "This is a glowing report and is about as good as it gets.

"It rightly recognises the considerable improvements made by Enfield since our last Ofsted inspection, and I congratulate everyone who has contributed to the progress we have made."

Director of education Liz Graham added: "We have been determined to address the issues raised in the last inspection and staff have worked extremely hard to achieve this by improving services."

Cllr George Savva, education spokesman for the opposition Labour group, this week said: "This is encouraging news for everyone working so hard within education in Enfield.

"I sincerely hope the current administration continues with this good work."

January 29, 2003 11:00