"Some spectacularly successful" teaching takes place in Bradford for under-fives, a new report has found.

A review of the Early Years education service was carried out by national expert Jim Rose.

The former Chief Inspector of Primary Schools was commissioned by Council chiefs to conduct a thorough survey of current practice.

The Early Years service has long been recognised as a strength of the Bradford education service. It escaped criticism when the rest of the LEA was blasted by Ofsted and as a result it was not hived off to the private sector along with other services, which are now run by Serco.

Mr Rose praises much of the current set-up.

He identified excellent standards of classroom organisation, thorough planning and "some spectacularly successful" teaching and learning.

He said early years staff were well qualified and managed by experienced and capable bosses.

The district's seven nursery schools have been commended for consistently very high standards, which have already been praised in most cases by Ofsted and the report reiterates they are a force for good.

But Mr Rose also makes a number of recommendations for the future, to further drive up standards and ensure that the education given to three to five-year-olds helps prepare them for the challenge of primary school.

Recommendations in the report include: more focus should be placed on children's language development, especially speaking and listening; teachers should agree an Early Years Language and Assessment policy to be used across the district; parents need to be more involved in their children's learning; there should be more monitoring of both teaching, and pupils' progress

Councillor David Ward, executive member for education, said: "I am pleased with the positive comments made by this report and the recommendations which will help take Early Years forward. There is still a lot of hard work to do in continuing to raise standards, but we have the set-up to give young children the start in life they deserve."