BOLTON Council has achieved good marks from the Government's education watchdog on how it looks after children and young people in the borough.

The authority received a grade three rating, with four being the highest. But Ofsted inspectors found there was room for improvement such as tackling pregnancy rates among girls aged 18 or under and raising the academic achievements of children.

Bolton Council's children's services department was praised for working to improve the health of children through schools and a project to tackle childhood obesity.

Singled out for praise was Project 360 which is a partnership between health services and the police to tackle substance misuse.

The report stated: "The council has been successful in identifying those who need treatment and retaining them on programmes. Challenges faced are referrals increasing year on year and young people moving into drug misuse at a younger age. The council is taking action to respond to these trends."

Inspectors noted that the council was ahead of most other local authorities in delivering a child and adolescent mental health service.

The local education system was described as being "adequate overall". Strengths in this area included good support for early years education and the provision for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities.

But inspectors added: "Pupils' achievement is satisfactory in the primary phase while the council recognises that improvements are required in the rate of progress made by pupils at secondary level."

Pupils' performance at A-level was below the national average.

The council was praised for keeping young mothers in education and "raising their aspirations".