SECONARY schools in Wiltshire have given the county council's performance a mixed review.

All schools have completed a survey during the last year and now the results are being published.

A report to councillors will show that generally the secondaries do not value the education department as highly as their counterparts in primary schools.

Chief education officer Bob Wolfson said the reactions are based on returns from 20 out of 28 secondary schools.

The questionnaires are based on the lines of the Ofsted and the audit commission.

Among the areas where the education department was given lower rating compared with other authorities were:

The planned level of delegation to schools from April this year;

Special education needs, including the efficiency with which the statutory assessment of pupils is made, and support for inclusion in mainstream schools;

Support for improvement in the quality of education and management of schools, including the support for personal, social and health education;

Management support service criticism of the electronic information exchange between the council and schools.

A number of the concerns are shared by the primary schools survey, says Mr Wolfson.

But he also listed areas where the education authority was highly rated.

These included the clarity of service specification and effectiveness evaluation of services;

Also praised were the strategy planning for special needs education, quality of in formation for governors; school libraries, clarity of budgets; building surveys and advice on property maintenance.