Wirral Metropolitan College had been told it requires improvement after a disappointing Ofsted inspection.
Wirral Met is a general further education college with sites at Conway Park, Twelve Quays, Wirral Waters, Birkenhead and Bebington. The college offers a range of courses to students of all ages including vocational and technical qualifications.
Following an inspection in October last year, the college was handed an overall rating of requires improvement.
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Ofsted said that while most students are positive about the college and their course, a "significant minority" of young students do not attend their lessons regularly or on time and too many students and apprentices do not achieve their qualifications. Out of eight individual categories, the college achieved requires improvement in seven and outstanding in one.
The report states: "In too many curriculum areas, the number of students and apprentices who achieve their qualifications has declined from the previous year. However, most students who do achieve progress on to positive destinations such as employment, apprenticeships or further learning."
Concerns were also raised about students and apprentices not having routinely planned careers advice.
Ofsted found that the college offers programmes that meet local, national and regional needs and in many areas, leaders have established positive links with employers to help plan opportunities like work experience with their students.
However, the watchdog found that a significant proportion of adult learning programmes "lack ambition and purpose," meaning that students do not make as much progress as they should.
Too many students in ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) and hairdressing were found to be studying unaccredited learning programmes that "impede their progress, hinder their progression and delay the achievement of their ambitions." Students are repeating learning and remaining at college instead of progressing quickly into work.
While there was praise for how tutors sequence their curriculums and use support staff, Ofsted found that too many tutors failed to provide helpful feedback to students, with some of that feedback found to be "brief and generic."
Ofsted said leaders at the college have not accurately identified all the weaknesses at the college in their own self-assessment report. Staff recently put actions in place to rectify these weaknesses, but these actions were not found to be effective. As a result, Ofsted said, too many weaknesses remain.
The report adds: "Leaders recognise that quality improvement processes have not been rigorous or robust enough to quickly identify areas for improvement. They have very recently put in place new quality systems and processes to identify and action underperformance. At the time of the inspection, it was too early to see the impact of these new interventions. Consequently, too many students and apprentices do not consistently benefit from an ambitious, high-quality education."
The report said that most staff are proud to work at the college and described it as an "inclusive and supportive environment." However in some instances, staff feel that their workload is too high.
Responding to the report, a spokesperson for Wirral Met College said: “We accept the findings from the Ofsted report. The college would like to extend our thanks to our students, stakeholders and wider community for their ongoing support.
"Whilst not overlooking the areas for improvement there are really positive elements within the report, which demonstrates the dedication by staff, and support for our students. We are incredibly proud of our outstanding achievement for provision for learners with high needs.”
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