A SECONDARY school is out of special measures but has been told there is still room for improvement.

De La Salle Catholic high school in Eccleston has been under the spotlight since it was ranked inadequate by Ofsted in 2015.

Head teacher Andrew Rannard took the reins in September this year, calling the school “a sleeping giant”.

After a two-day inspection last month, Ofsted ruled the school should be taken out of special measures.

Pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare were rated good.

But inspectors found effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils require improvement.

Inspectors said “leadership and management are not yet good because the quality of teaching is still too variable” and that improvements to achievement “are not consistent throughout the school”.

Quality of teaching was found to require improvement “because it is not consistently good”.

It was also noted “teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not always high enough”.

The proportion of lessons taught by temporary staff was found to have “had a detrimental impact on the quality of teaching” though inspectors acknowledged a large number of new teachers have now been recruited.

Levels of attainment “have generally been in line with national averages” although progress in mathematics “has been too low”. the report stated.

Exam performance of year 11 pupils has been “inadequate”.

Ofsted added that although current year 11s are making better progress there are “still too many” pupils, particularly boys and disadvantaged pupils, who are not making fast enough progress”.