An end-of-term report on Bradford's privatised education service shows there are five times as many 'failing' secondary schools as there should be.

It also reveals truancy levels to be above agreed levels and a growing number of excluded pupils.

Education Bradford took over most of the functions of the discredited education authority in 2001, signing up to a £360 million deal over ten years. In return it has stiff targets to improve the city's traditionally dismal academic performance.

One of its targets is to ensure no more than four per cent of the district's schools are deemed to be 'failing' or have 'serious weaknesses' by Ofsted, the Government watchdog. But last term 21.4 per cent of secondary schools were in this category and 10.1 per cent of primary schools.

The number of schools causing concern in Bradford is constantly shifting. This term, there are 12 schools in special measures: Eastwood, Ryecroft, Undercliffe, St Francis RC, St Augustine's CE, Whetley and Swain House Primary schools; the Aireville Pupil Referral Unit and four secondaries, Bradford Cathedral, Carlton Bolling, Rhodesway, and Buttershaw.

There are a further nine schools with 'serious weaknesses' according to Ofsted. They are: Oxenhope, Usher Street, St Andrew's CE, Windhill, Poplars Farm, Victoria and St James Church Primary schools and two secondaries: Nab Wood and Immanuel CE College.

Now there are fears that the extra support needed by these 21 schools will draw resources away from the others.

As already revealed in the Telegraph & Argus, the Bradford district has the highest proportion of schools in special measures than anywhere else in the country.

The report by Bradford Council's contract monitoring department, which will be considered by the education scrutiny committee tomorrow, says: "The increased number of schools causing concern which need additional support means there is a risk that insufficient resources will be available to support other schools."

The report goes on to make an overall comment on progress by Education Bradford: "Education Bradford planned for a transitional phase in the first year... this transitional phase is now complete and Education Bradford will be rigorously challenged on its delivery of the contract.

"It is encouraging to report that performance is improving in some key areas, particularly attendance. However with a large increase in the number of schools classified as causing concern, it is important that support to other schools is not diminished."

The report gives attendance rates at the district's schools as 90.8 per cent last term, against a contract target of 94 per cent for 2003. However it has improved since last year. The number of excluded pupils totalled 117 in the last academic year, and numbers rose in the first half of this year, with 64 between September and February half-term.

Today, Mark Pattison, managing director of Education Bradford, said the majority of the schools in special measures were already causing concern before it took over.

"We expect there to be a small further increase in the number of schools causing concern but numbers should start coming down later this year and in the long term we expect all schools in Bradford to be doing well," he said. He said the rise in exclusions was "part of a national trend which is a result of a change in Government advice".

But Ian Murch, secretary of the Bradford branch of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said: "Both Bradford Council and Education Bradford are complacent about the performance. They want to be able to say the contract has succeeded but it will have to be a lot better before you can genuinely say that."