Calderdale education authority, based in Halifax, has just six weeks to improve serious problems in its senior management.

Calderdale's Helen Rivron tells BBC News: "Senior mangers have often been involved in inappropriate tasks"

If it fails to do so, it could become the first education authority to be taken over by the Education Secretary, David Blunkett.

The School Standards and Framework Act, which recently passed into law, allows him to send in agents to assume a local authority education committee's powers.

Calderdale was first inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in January 1997, a few months after the crisis of discipline at The Ridings School.

The school was closed for a short time and the new headteacher expelled a dozen pupils.

The original Ofsted inspection said the authority was failing in its duties and had no convincing strategy for school improvement.

A follow-up visit by the inspectors took place in June this year and their new report finds that efforts to raise standards are being undermined by an ineffective senior management team.

Estelle Morris: "I cannot allow any local education authority to fail in its duty to raise educational standards"

The inspectors have also found that Calderdale is failing to consult its schools properly over major changes and that councillors and town hall officials are not working together effectively.

The School Standards Minister, Estelle Morris, has now given Calderdale six weeks to redress its problems.

"It is clear that efforts to improve standards across Calderdale are being undermined by an ineffective senior management team," said Ms Morris.

"I am therefore asking Calderdale to report to me by the 14 September on how they plan to remedy the failings identified by Ofsted, including what specific action they will take to deal with this ineffective management.

"Calderdale has made good progress in areas such as the curriculum support team, with resources now targeted on schools with greatest need.

"But this is not enough to deliver the improvements in services and performance necessary to raise standards so that Calderdale pupils can fulfil their potential."

The General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, David Hart, said his members in Calderdale would be glad that "decisive action" was being taken to deal with a local authority still failing to meet their needs.

"It looks as if this is the last chance saloon for Calderdale, and unless they put their house in order there is a very real chance that someone else will be asked to run an education service which addresses the needs of schools," he said.

Report 'a snapshot in time'

The chairwoman of Calderdale's education committee, Helen Rivron, admitted that standards in the area's schools had to improve but said the authority was doing well in a number of key areas.

"We share the minister's commitment to raising standards," she said. "For a number of reasons we need to be more effective at strategic planning. We accept that.

"But there is an awful lot that is going right in Calderdale. Our results are good, behaviour is good. This is a snapshot in time taken since previous reports."

Councillor Rivron insisted that individuals would not be blamed for the failings and said she was confident that an action plan would be prepared in time for the government's deadline.

"We are not making any knee-jerk reactions," she said. "We've got to make a detailed and considered response to the Minister.

"The education of children in Calderdale remains our top priority. We are determined that standards will improve."