North Somerset education authority has serious weaknesses which will not be easy to correct, according to the Office for Standards in Education.

It says that although the authority made an “impressive start” in the last cycle of inspections, progress since then has been poor.

“The earlier ‘shared’ commitment to improvement and the sense of ‘partnership’ have all but evaporated,” said inspectors.

They blame weak leadership, poor strategic planning and a failure to sustain purposeful relationships with schools for the problems. “Where the authority has needed to act ‘as a whole’ to support schools, it has frequently been found wanting,” they add.

However the report notes that Colin Diamond, who took over as director of education less than a year ago, already has a good grasp of what needs to be done, while new members of the senior management team have good track records.

OFSTED raises doubts as to whether the LEA can make progress, but the report adds: “Upheaval is more likely to exacerbate the problems than improve matters.” It says the authority can do better but that OFSTED and the Audit Commission will have to return.

Meanwhile, the Department for Education and Skills is to intervene in Walsall after a new report showed continuing problems.

The last inspection showed a “formidable” list of weaknesses. Since then there has been a change of senior staff, and a contractor, SercoQAA, was also brought in.

But progress has been poor, said inspectors, although the contractor was making an impact. The report condemned “the poor leadership of elected members”, and said progress was dependent on an extensive package of support. OFSTED will have to make frequent checks, inspectors added.

Education Secretary Estelle Morris said the Government and Walsall Council would appoint consultants to decide whether more services should be transferred to SercoQAA.

She said: “Consultants will have four weeks to review the performance of LEA-retained services and advise on transfer arrangements.”