The pace of improvement made by Bradford schools in the last decade should be celebrated not derided, an education boss has insisted.

Denise Faulconbridge, manag-ing director of Education Bradford, said statements made by senior politicians about education in Bradford over the last week proves the firm’s school support services have been effective.

At the end of last week, Schools Secretary Ed Balls said he was now “minded” to lift the restriction on Bradford Council which forced it to contract out its education services in 2000, paving the way for the local authority to make its own choice on how best to run services next.

Serco signed a ten-year deal to help stimulate improvement in schools. The contract expires in July 2011 and a Council-led programme review board is deciding how best to deliver education services. People across the district have been urged to contribute to the debate by filling in an online questionnaire.

Serco has come under fire from educationalists and politicians for bringing standards in line with national averages, but Mrs Faulconbridge insisted the firm had achieved significant gains.

“One thing Gordon Brown said (when he visited Bradford last week) was he recognised the pace of improvement in Bradford’s schools, then Ed Balls announced he’s minded to lift the restriction,” she said.

“We’re delighted, that’s what Serco is here for and if that’s being recognised that’s very positive.”

She said judging by Key Stage 2 results since 2001 Bradford was the most improved local education authority in the country in science, the fourth most improved in maths and the 13th most improved in English. While just four Bradford secondary schools are achieving below floor targets compared to nine last year.

She said: “Our pace of improvement is good but we recognise we still have a long way to go in terms of absolute standards.”

She refuted claims that other local authorities, where internal changes followed critical Ofsted reports, had since performed better than Bradford.

“Some people forget how far below everyone else Bradford was. Sometimes people find it difficult to differentiate between the pace of improvement and the rate of results. It’s not just about exam results,” she said.

Mrs Fauclonbridge said Serco would be keen to extend its partnership with the Council if it continued to outsource services.

“Serco has been a partner with Bradford Council for eight years and if, in the process the Council is going through, it wants to work with an external partner in some form then Serco would take part in any procurement process.”

She anticipated the Council would not shy away from outsourcing.

She said: “The idea of bringing back in what was lost ten years ago is probably not the way Council officers are thinking because they know the landscape has changed. I feel it’s effective to commission services because it’s one way of being clear of what they want.”

During the course of the contract she said Serco hoped to recoup investment spent in the early part of the deal and the firm was likely to “break even”.