A SENIOR council official has joined a new government organisation to improve education in the North East.

Jill Colbert, director of children's services at Sunderland City Council, is one of a 13-strong board appointed to run the Opportunity North East programme.

The project was set up earlier this year with a £24m budget to raise standards across the region.

Ms Colbert will represent children’s services for Sunderland, Durham and South Tyneside.

She said: “Opportunity North East seeks to build on strong primary school performance and drive improvement, attainment and positive outcomes for our most vulnerable children and young people.

“I look forward to joining education and business leaders, as we build partnerships that will broaden opportunity and prospects.”

Ms Colbert was made Sunderland City Council’s director of children’s services in April, moving from Trafford Council, in Greater Manchester. At the same time, she also became chief executive of Together for Children, the organisation set up to run children’s services in Sunderland following 2015’s Ofsted inspection.

Opportunity North East is supposed to encourage schools, colleges, councils and businesses to work more closely.

Lord Theodore Agnew, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the school system, said: “Drawing on the expertise of local education and business leaders to develop initiatives that are evidence led and tailored to the particular needs of the North East will help us tap into the talent that so clearly exists in the region and ensure young people have every chance to go on and succeed.

“Creating opportunity is a job for all of us and I am pleased to see such a diverse range of organisations determined to work with the Government to create more opportunities for every young person, regardless of background.”