ST HELENS College must make across-the-board improvements, inspectors say.

In a report by education watchdog Ofsted, the college was given an overall rating of 'requires improvement', the second lowest rating, following an inspection in April.

The college's leadership and management, quality of teaching, outcomes for learners, students' personal development, behaviour and welfare, 16 to 19 study programmes, adult learning programmes and its 14-to-16 Academy were all highlighted as requiring improvement, with its apprenticeships provision given the lowest rating of 'inadequate'.

The college had been graded as 'good' in its previous inspection.

Inspectors said students’ progress in English and mathematics was "slow" and "the proportion of students who achieve a qualification is too low".

Also, the proportion of 16 to 19-year-olds with A* to C GCSE grades was said to be "significantly below the already low national rate".

Meanwhile senior leaders’ self-assessment of the college was said to be "insufficiently rigorous" and "too positive".

Inspectors noted the principal and governing body had a "clear aspirational vision of what the college can achieve in the next five years" but added plans to merge with Knowsley College have "proved a distraction for senior leaders and governors".

They added governors do not receive reports on students’ overall progress meaning "they are unable to challenge senior leaders on how well students are progressing on their courses".

Adult students’ progression to further education, higher education or employment was also found to be "too low".

Inspectors also said managers have not implemented a sufficiently rigorous system to "identify the strengths and weaknesses of the provision to allow them to set actions to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment".

Student attendance was highlighted as too low and inspectors noted "too many students and apprentices" left courses early, with "less than half" of apprentices completing programmes by their planned end date.

Teachers were said to not always have "high enough expectations" of students and staff do not use expertise well enough to "plan learning that matches students' individual development needs".

St Helens College principal Dr Jette Burford admitted the outcome was disappointing but said the result of the inspection had to be considered in the light of an "increasingly challenging environment".

She said: “Whilst we are disappointed, the outcome of this Ofsted report needs to be carefully considered in the context of the increasingly challenging environment in which we are operating.

"We have introduced a more challenging and stretching curriculum, with demanding two-year qualifications at level 3.

"The position regarding English and maths remains an ongoing challenge not only for us, but for general further education college’s up and down the country."

"The Ofsted report highlights many of our strengths including a strong curriculum well aligned to local skills requirements, excellent relationships with employers resulting in purposeful and meaningful work-related opportunities and strong progression opportunities.

"We will continue to work hard to ensure that we maximise every outcome opportunity, and we firmly believe our achievement rates will show a continued improvement in overall performance this summer, clearly demonstrating how well our students progress, and achieve with us."

Dr Burford added: "The college had already, as part of its internal quality assurance processes, identified some areas that required improvement, and had implemented plans to address these.

"We are compiling a post-inspection plan with clear actions to take us forward.”