A Bolton headquatered special education provider is celebrating after being named a great place to work once again.

Outcomes First Group has picked up the accolade for the fourth year running.

The group, which has its head office in Bolton but employs over 5,500 people in schools, residential homes and offices across the county, is a leader in education and care for autistic people and those with additional needs including social, emotional and mental health.

Chief executive officer, David Leatherbarrow, said: “We are beyond delighted that Outcomes First Group has once again been officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ and this year has given us our strongest ever results.”

Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture.

It enables organisations to discover what they are doing well and where they need to improve through employee surveys.

The survey is based on a trust model.

To be considered a Great Place to Work, organisations must meet a minimum score of 65 per cent. Once again Outcomes First Group far exceeded this and achieved a score of 77 per cent.

Mr Leatherbarrow added: “This year we’ve had an increase across every factor of the survey.

“For example, 89 per cent of colleagues said they feel a sense of pride when they look at what we accomplish, an increase of five per cent.

"89 per cent said they are made to feel welcome when they join the company, an increase of six per cent.

"87 per cent of colleagues said people at the company care about each other, an increase of six per cent.

“My team and I will dig deep into the results to narrow down the key issues we need to address from a group perspective to ensure Outcomes First Group is evolving and is the best employer we can be.”

Last year the group took part in a trial of a four day week and after six weeks opted to stick with this.