�鶹Լ��

Education services in Monmouthshire have been taken out of special measures after three years.

In 2013, watchdog Estyn identified it was falling short of the standards that could be reached.

On Friday, it said there had been progress in six areas, including improvement in school performances and the safeguarding of children.

The council said it was "an important step for education" within the local authority.

In a letter to the council, the regulator said no follow-up action was required.

But it noted that there was "still work to be done to ensure that our more able students achieve more of the very highest grades".

Estyn added: "The feedback clearly asserts that the authority knows its schools well and has improved the data it uses to support them identify areas for improvement."

'Continued improvement'

Councillor Liz Hacket Pain, cabinet member with responsibility for education, said: "This has been the focus for a huge range of people across the directorate, our schools, governors and other partners.

"I take great pleasure in acknowledging that we know our schools well, we intervene to support them appropriately and that this has driven a continued improvement in standards across all of the key stages.

"I also recognise that there is further work to be done that will take those standards higher again."

The local authority follows Blaenau Gwent which was removed from special measures in December.