The Impact of New Teaching and Learning Strategy at Harlow College

INTRODUCTION

The terms ‘adult learning’ and ‘further education’ are familiar but difficult concepts in the modern day education scenario in the U.K because of its many diverse forms which incorporate general and vocational training. These terms have invited widespread debates, cutting across political parties and intellectuals, and procured reports and reviews resulting in the formation and implementation of diverse strategies across the country.
Further education is meant for those members of disadvantaged sections of the society who have left initial education at 16 and who want to pursue education further for personal fulfilment and employment. Participation in adult learning is relatively high in England, despite the widening cultural and socio-economic inequalities and lack of a strategic vision with regard to its functioning. The younger generation are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of learning in terms of a better lifestyle, employability, social status etc. They look upon adult learning as a ‘second chance’ at education that can be the first step towards lifelong learning.
The present discussion on key skills and learning in this sector, their strategic correctness and ways of implementation etc. are set in the backdrop of the recent changes in the Harlow College thanks to the implementation of the new learning and teaching strategies after an Ofsted Annual Inspection in September, 2006 and the subsequent assessment in 2007. In this assignment, we shall examine some facts regarding further education sector, the major policies and strategies that have been introduced in the sector and how they have impacted on the performance of Harlem College which represents a typical further education college in the U.K. In the process we will also take into consideration how the consequences of these reforms sweep across the entire further education sector at the national level.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Before making a brief overview of the above-mentioned factors, let us examine some facts about the further education sector. The origin of today’s further education colleges was in technical schools in the late 18th century. Gradually, they assumed additional roles in offering second chance at education and arose as a powerful contributor to the success of the community and nation. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the U.K ranked 5th -with 38% participation -in further education in 13 OECD countries, behind the Scandinavian countries and Switzerland and 9th on hours of training and 8th on training expenditure. However, these figures mention nothing of the quality of learning. The truth remains that though the U.K enjoys high standards in adult learning, it is only those from the advantaged backgrounds that take up learning again. The Independent Committee of Enquiry (NIACE,2005) identified some areas as the main objectives for adult learning which aim at enhancing the accessibility to employment, creating and sustaining cultural value, creating a coherent workforce who reap the rewards of a set of basic skills, thereby leading the nation to prosperity. In its latest Skills White Paper, the government stresses the significance of skills in education as being
”central to achieving our national goals of prosperity and fairness. They are an essential contributor to a successful, wealth creating economy”. (DFES/DTI/HMT/DWP 2005:5)
There is no questioning of the relation between the benefits of learning and the overall prosperity of the individual and the country. A country with a skilled labour force can always help its country in achieving economic wellbeing through better socio-cultural atmosphere and employment rates. Hence, the government’s main concern is to strike a balance between the learner, his individual needs and the skills that he has to acquire in terms of productivity and employment.
This brings to focus the fact that there are lakhs of people in the U.K who lack the basic skills of literacy and numeracy and who are thus failures in the work setting. This means that problems start at the grass root level. The poorly technically educated people who occupy the managerial positions often find it difficult to cope with the modern production techniques and advancements in technology. Poorly maintained machinery, and the resultant high wastage of materials also adversely affect the quality of goods and thereby the productivity and the economy. So, the problems in the further education sector are deeper and multi dimensional.

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The importance of vocational education and training in the modern world, in terms of employment and overall prosperity has always been underlined by businesses and governments throughout the world. In the U.K several reforms have been brought about in its VET system which has had their positive and negative consequences in the field. A definition of different types of VET has been made by West (1999), despite the lack of an internationally accepted set of definitions. They are as follows:

1. Initial Vocational Education and Training:-It is provided for young people from the age of 15/16 after compulsory school education and is generally provided in school-based programmes and is public-funded.
2. Continuing Vocational Education and Training:- All kinds of education and training provided for adults in the labour market. It is funded by the EU, social partners, enterprises, public authorities etc.
3. Vocational Education and training for the Unemployed:-UVT is training provided for those persons who are a) without work, b) currently available for work and c) seeking work. It is funded primarily by governments and by EU, depending on the country and sometimes by regions and enterprises.

Having now conceptualized VET, we can now move on to analyse the socio-political changes that took place in the further education sector in the U.K. In 1973, a tripartite national body called Manpower Services Commission (MSC) was formed to monitor government training schemes and national manpower planning. In 1981, MSC produced a set of objectives for U.K training which were mainly aimed at skill training with a view to creating and widening opportunities for adult learners. The commission also developed a ‘Youth Training Scheme’ (YTS) for unemployed school-leavers in order to enhance their employability. This scheme was intended to be a modernised version of apprenticeship. MSC also launched a Review of Vocational Qualifications (RVQ) which led to the establishment of a National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ) to monitor a unified system of national vocational qualifications. These attempts by MSC were aimed at rectifying some of the gaps identified in the skills sector and connecting the ever-growing and ever-changing needs of businesses with the skills and knowledge of school leavers.
The 1999 White Paper ‘Learning to Succeed: A New Framework’ which was published following a far-reaching review of post-16 education and training, proposed the dismantling of the Further Education Funding Council and another body called, the Training Enterprises Councils. TECs have been responsible for articulating public and private provision for vocational training. But government reduction of public funding and the worsening relationship between the TEC leaders and the Government officials over funding, departmental supervision etc. led to the disintegration of these councils. In their place, another body was created as proposed in the White paper, incorporating the responsibilities of both FEFC and TEC. Thus, the ‘Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was formed in 2001 as a formal body with strong responsibilities to plan for the structure, funding and provision of high quality education for adult learners and create a market for adult learning. Its goal is to improve the skills of England’s young people and adults, and mould a workforce of world-class standard. However, it is quite evident that this new body is only a reincarnation of the earlier bodies, albeit now under state control and not autonomous as its former versions.
It can be seen that LSC also could not bring any new lease of life to the VET system in the U.K. Since most providers are heavily influenced by LSC funding, national priorities and targets, the government’s efforts to create a ‘free market’ system in which the entire adult learning sector would be employer-led and employer-controlled did not bring its desired effects. The government’s aim was to effect a gradual disengagement from the responsibilities for training provision and gradually reducing its financial support, thereby gradually transforming LSC into an autonomous body. The recommendation by the Leitch Review to fund training providers only after they have secured enrolments and recorded achievements added further confusion and instability in the sector.
It is sad to note that despite the government’s ambitious policies aimed at the proper functioning of further education sector and overall well-being of the nation, the majority of the British workforce remains inadequately educated and trained. VET in the U.K remain an isolated entity from the mainstream vocational qualifications and employment market. Generally neglected by policy makers, despite new strategies and schemes it failed to emerge as a coherent structure incorporating all the theories and learning skills.
Another landmark event in the further education sector is the formation of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs), led by Sector Skills Development Agency. There are 25 SSCs, each of which is an employer-led, part public funded independent organisation that covers a specific sector across the U.K. The Leitch Review suggests granting SSCs more responsibilities to develop and approve vocational qualifications. But the employers were also involved in qualifications and the SSCs have not yet proved themselves, except that they are in a ‘no man’s land’. Under the SSDA, a Sector Qualifications Reform Programme was also formed as part of a broad reaching initiative to ensure that all learning programmes are available to all across U.K.
It should be noted at this juncture that even NVQs have come under severe criticism for its shortcomings. National Vocational Qualifications were designed to assess competence in the workplace and accredit newly acquired skills at work.However; their performance as an accreditation body is overshadowed by its badly designed structure, incompatibility with the employment market, repetition of courses on offer etc. Mention should also be made of some other changes that took place in the VET system. The complete overhaul of the National Qualifications Framework which has been invoked and monitored by the Qualification curriculum Authority (QCA) and the Department of Education and Skills (DES) has proved futile in terms of quality assurance and concrete results in the VET system.
VET has also been beset with many ailments and criticisms. In many countries, it is the institutions, not awarding bodies that award qualifications. As one example, there is Open College Network (OCN) that offers accreditation of awards devised in colleges to be more widely recognised through a peer review process which is moderated by the OCN. As against their European counterparts, national vocational qualifications have been criticised to be narrow and task-specific, instead of containing a broad mix of training in general education. The relationship between education, training and economy, the role of community-based adult learning in changing power relations, improving quality of life to cope with a competitive economy are the vital points in further education sector. The VET system is one of central-control-starting from its definition of objectives to funding and implementation of skills-, whereas in Germany-to quote a European country as an example-the VET system is defined by government regulations. U.K also possesses the almost unique position of offering labour market opportunities to 16 year olds that carry little or no element of further education or training.
VET learners come from diverse backgrounds and exhibit a wide range of motivations. Some of them are self-directed towards learning and each one of them has individual preferences regarding the mode of learning. Some of them lack motivation and awareness. Besides, there are no publicity or awareness programmes for adult learning. Teaching in this sector is also very demanding. Their basic duty is to develop teaching and learning experiences, resources and assessments, program planning, marketing and prepare institute ands state-wide development project. Their main duty of teaching seems to be neglected in this additional process. Besides the general problems in further education sector regarding financial support, strategic implementation etc.
Nevertheless, there has always been emphasis on provision of more skills and quality of learning in all government strategies, even as they have been undergoing changes. So, the whole system has to ensure that there is enough flexibility to allow for provision of further key skills that may be found compatible with many forms of employment. Each VET scheme is specifically tailored to ensure employability of that related sector with its unique market focus. The concern of the awarding bodies that award and monitor qualifications should be in line with the inconsistencies of the skills provision of the vocational education and training systems. Generally, tests and qualifications are the means by which learners’ knowledge and skills are evaluated. These assessments serve as major criteria in evaluating the performance of the teacher and the institution. While in most cases, gaining qualifications act as a major incentive for learners, it has its negative aspect also. It may promote an instrumental view of the entire teaching and learning process. A natural blending of the skills and its workability is needed. In other words, a transformation of skills and knowledge onto a practical setting is the need of the hour. Testing should not be allowed to take precedence over learning. It may end up having a negative effect on the other objective of learning and achievement. But at present the current inconsistencies and instability prevailing in the VET system and the resultant inhibition on the part of the awarding bodies throws seeds of cynicism in our minds regarding the flexibility of the whole system.
The inflexible bureaucratic schemes and policies-the inevitable consequences of a democratic state- and the ever changing socio-economic variations are thrown together into the further education sector, obstructing its development, and the skills sector finds itself in a deadlock thanks to the continuous intense managerial interference. It is time we revisited the past experiences of the VET system and derive some useful lessons from them that may throw light in its way forward. A retrospection into the golden time of the VET system is likely to remove the bureaucratic gridlock that currently hampers the flexibility of the VET system.
The Department for Children, School and Families declares in its homepage that it is committed to enabling all children and young people to gain education and skills in the best possible manner so that they reach their full potential and attain the highest standards of achievement. It also underlines the importance of proper imparting of skills before gaining qualification for attaining supremacy in the global market.
We must discuss briefly a venture of Learning Skills Council which made some headlines, but showed signs of failure in less than a year after its launch. It is the ‘Train to Gain’ service that was born to provide impartial and independent advice on training to businesses across England. In the further education sector, they were responsible for planning and funding high-quality vocational training for everyone and work closely with businesses to ensure this training meets their needs. The Leitch Review of skills has recommended that the further education sector should be led by individual employers and learners and that by 2010 all public funding for adult vocational skills be routed through ‘Train to Gain’; an approach that marginalises learners who have no voice in the programme and the learning providers who are able to define the strong areas as well as identify problem areas in training

SKILLS FOR LIFE

The ambitious national strategy within the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) ‘Skills for Life’ which was launched in 2001 aims to bring about new reforms in all the areas relating to further education. This all-encompassing plan addresses all the changing trends and problems in further education sector and much as it has been eulogised, it also brings into sharp focus the fact that there is still a widening skills gap that needs urgent handling. We must examine this matter in the light of the fact that European countries view up-skilling of literacy and numeracy as an essential step towards economic overall excellence. They are also preparing for a unified qualification framework for Europeans which would be devoid of all the rigidity of a bureaucratic system. Does it mean that the U.K is slow in implementing its strategies across its workforce effectively? It is also clear that our European neighbours consider their workforce-which consists of young people and adults- as essential ingredients in the country’s march forward. They considerably invest in the skills and training of tutors and learners with ambitious and far-reaching targets and strategies, whereas in the U.K the entire sector is woefully neglected, with its huge workforce grappling for funding, resources and a stable structure for learning to take place.
The startling and pitiable aspect of this is the widespread concern regarding the sustainability of the programme’s strategy and co-ordination once the state support and funding ends. We have to read along these lines about the shortfall of human resources which is another grave cause of concern.
In 1999 Moser Report (A Fresh Start-improving Literacy and Numeracy) was published which is heralded as the basic skills gap as one of the serious and fundamental problems in further education sector. The report further states that:

”It is staggering that over the years millions of children have been leaving school hardly able to read and write, and that today millions of adults have the same problems”. Moser (1999).

Among this small section of adult population only a very few of them took skills and learning seriously and strove towards improving their lives. The report also states that one adult in five in the U.K lacks the basic skills of literacy and numeracy and it points its fingers to this problem as one of the causes of low productivity in our economy. Moser attributes this low level of literacy and numeracy mainly to home situation and past education which produced millions of children with poor basic skills. He also points out the lack of a coherent and consistent national standard to monitor curriculum and quality of teaching and learning.
There is a bright side to this gloomy picture of ‘Skills for Life’. Despite the fundamental concerns regarding funding, resources and tutor availability there are signs of a clear strategy that offers a coherent structure for skills and learning, and augurs well for the further education sector. It also reflects the government’s commitment to improving the literacy, numeracy and language skills of its citizens irrespective of race, social status, language and financial background. The government aims to achieve this by integrating its ideas and strategies in the wider socio-economic divides within our multi-cultural society.
The endemic problem to be tackled now is the level and availability of well-trained staff who are committed to making a difference in others’ lives. The Moser report points out the need for having a fully-qualified teaching staff in the sector. The function of a teacher of adults is much wider than just that of a lecturer or demonstrator and the job is much more complex and demanding. The government’s concern would be to mould a teacher force who are enthusiastic, willing to experiment and who are able to combine different skills in all aspects of teaching.
Fees and funding have the potential to effect a redistribution of opportunities in favour of disadvantaged sections. The government’s funding and fees policy has been in line with the priorities mentioned in its skills strategy. Those studying towards basic skills have access to free tuition, while adults wanting to imbibe the higher skills have to pay an increasing proportion of the costs. But government’s recent policies aim at reducing financial support to providers and as a result most of the learners are left out of the provision of free tuition. Besides, the government has not yet been able to adapt financial support to the needs of adult learners who have to pay increasing fees.
The demerits of the current systm are that it lacks coherence and is not available to the needy and deserving sections of adult learners. Unexpected withdrawal or reduction of financial support will result in the sudden shortfall of learners and affect other areas of learning as well. A discretionary funding approach that caters to the needs of all learners and make the best use of the resources would be much appreciated.
The uptake of workforce skills as a serious issue across the nation after the Moser Report and the acceptance of ‘Skills for Life’ as the government’s official strategy in the post-16 sector have been the major changes in the further education sector, though a concrete strategy with regard to planning, funding etc. has yet to be emerged. These revelations convey the message that improvement of the U.K’s skill force is a sine-qua-non in economic success.
Governments around the world have built their educational systems on the basis of particular assumptions, such as the inflexibility or the correctness of free market economics, feasibility of strategies etc. In this process, they often tend to forget the basic purpose and benefits of educational system, be it compulsory education or vocational education. Since vocational training and further education exist away from the mainstream educational programme, they suffer the brunt of this neglect. One tends to question the injustice of treating vocational education in this ‘subsidiary’ way and the possibility of renaming the sector as ‘work-related learning’ to save it from further neglect and decay.
The further education sector is flooded with debates, tension and questions. But the main concern is the very nature and purpose of vocational education and training. VET should be looked upon as an important part of main stream education in which the state offers young people and adults, opportunities for education and training for skills that will uplift their lives in the harsh and competitive modern world. It is then up to the policy makers to bring about changes in the sector, thereby ensuring that VET provides an education that is worthwhile.
According to Andrew Foster, (dfes,2006) the main duties of the further education colleges of the future should be:

1. To improve employability and skills in its local area contributing to economic growth and social inclusion.
2. To have committed and professional teachers and trained staff who are proud to work with further educations sector.
3. To have a broad profile amongst staff, managers, and leaders, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, and age which reflects the multi-cultural community.
4. To be innovative and responsive to the needs of individuals.
5. To put learners at the centre of the system.
6. To command the confidence of the local community.
7. To regularly collect and act on learner and employer feedback etc.

The time cannot be far away when these ambitious objectives are fulfilled by means of a clear and far-reaching vision -which is completely free of selfish or political motives- and a flexible and systematic strategy that incorporates learner needs and physical changes.
Having discussed the current thinking in its socio-historical setting, let us now move on to examine the reports that is impacting on the new teaching and learning strategies in Harlow College.

EVIDENCE AND DISCUSSION

As the official inspectors and regulators of educational excellence, Ofsted undertake regular inspections to schools and colleges and present their assessments which aim at the institutions’ improvement. In order to present this study, substantive use was made of Ofsted Departmental Report and Annual Assessment reports, and after analysing them in the light of the above-discussed aspects some conclusions have been reached. For a smooth reading and continuity, the direct quotations from the report are given in italicized text.
The Ofsted report 2006 starts off on a somewhat bright note, stating that overall success and achievement rates in the previous year were broadly at or above national averages. But on a closer examination of different individual sectors, it can be seen that there is a sharp decline in adult retention and overall success rate. It strongly points to weak areas in the college’s curriculum. The report is favourable in its opinion regarding the integration of key skills delivery and guidance and support provided to all learners.
The new learning and teaching strategy that was proposed to be introduced in the college was in its infant stages during the assessment in 2006. Yet, it finds a place in the report as the main strategy to raise standards and in the Annual Assessment Report, 2007 as the means by which the college aims to fulfil its mission of achieving excellence.
The report provides clear evidence of a need for improvement in its performance level. Phrases such as ‘low level’ of success, ‘satisfactory’ etc. while describing success rate and performance of different levels show this. Let us consider the following factual information:

‘”Teaching and learning are satisfactory. The recent teaching and learning strategy is the main instrument for raising standards….Assessment and the identification of additional learning needs are satisfactory”.(Ofsted 2006)

It is ironic that teaching and learning can be viewed as satisfactory, when it is seen as low compared with not only the standard learning levels, but also in the context of the new learning strategy’s impact.
Another conflicting opinion occurs in the same section. The college’s approach to educational and social inclusion is assessed to be good and the college is seen as a good example for adult learning in the locality, and yet seen as being insufficient in its integration of the government’s ‘Every Child Matters’ strategy.

‘ ” The college provides good guidance and support, especially for learners with learning difficulties and /or disabilities. Pastoral and tutorial support are very effective. However, the integration of the ‘Every Child Matters’ themes into tutorials is insufficient. Learners feel safe and secure”.

If the main objective of this ambitious scheme is to provide services to children and protect them from harm and ensure personal achievement, then the next statement in this paragraph is startlingly ironic. If the scheme does function properly, the chances of the learners’ feeling unsafe is quite dim.
As we have noted in the literature review, imparting of key skills is the core strategy of Government in adult learning. Therefore, how can the college have clear improvements in its key skills imparting and yet have failures in teaching and learning strategic delivery?
Conflicting opinions are also seen in areas regarding management and leadership issues.

‘ ”Leadership and management are satisfactory. Leadership is strong. The senior management team has developed a good and demanding teaching and learning strategy to raise standards. ….”

Read this with the following statement:

‘ ” Curriculum management is inconsistent. …Managers have discussed the new teaching and learning strategy with staff , but not all staff understand it or show commitment to its vision.”

Does it show, as against what the report says failure on the part of the leadership, however satisfactory it is, to convince the staff of its policies?
The positive aspects of the college, as pointed out in the report are, a lesson observation system which places due emphasis on learning and learner needs, a good monitoring and tracking of learner activities and progress, consistent success rate, good NVQ assessment and good tutorial support for full-time courses, a good management that provides all kinds of support, the availability of information on a wide range of areas such as career, health, financial matters etc.
Another noteworthy feature is that the college promotes healthy eating and drinking lifestyles. It is evident from these aspects that the college plays an important role in the day to day life of the local community and this consistent favourable impact of the college on its geographic community is another specific improving area. We should consider these factors as positive impacts of the new teaching and learning strategy that is being implemented in the college. The fact that the local community was unwilling to embrace the new strategical initiative of the management and that as a result the college came down from its exalted position after the implementation of the new strategies should only be seen as a temporary matter.
According to Ofsted, the college demonstrates a good capacity to improve its provision and achievement. But it further says that ‘too much teaching and learning remain dull and uninspiring’ and there does not seem to be any correlation between what the college strives to achieve and the reality. If the staff are not apprised and convinced of the college’s vision, then this surely impacts on the new strategies.
Another interesting observation is that learners use information and communication technology (ICT) well for their projects and presentations while teachers make insufficient use of ICT in lessons and the interactive whiteboard in classrooms. Tutors are also reported to be untrained in an effective handling of sensitive topics. This brings to focus a major aspect of further education which we examined in the literature review. The impact of the new learning strategy must focus on learners to engage and teachers to inspire with clarity and coherence the different themes that are dealt with in the curriculum. The need for a set of committed and fully-trained teachers for attaining excellence in the skills sector is primary for the successful functioning of any institution. Yet, it should be noted that the report mentions good teaching and learning as one of the strong areas of the college, based on its overall success rates.
We can read throughout the report that the performance of the management is not up to the standard and yet it is seen as having the capacity to improve it. While acknowledging that it is too early to judge the effectiveness of the new strategies implemented in the college, the report firmly opines that procedures for reviewing course performance and management are insufficient.
The latest inspection report in September 2007 noted the impact brought about by the new teaching and learning strategy in a detailed manner because it has started affecting almost all the core areas of the institution. The managerial decision to bring about some radical changes in the strategy met with severe criticism from the staff and it resulted in about 40% of its staff leaving the college and the college itself,-which has hitherto enjoyed a favourable position as a good educational institution in the locality-becoming the subject of negative local and national publicity. This negative impact reflects in the college’s academic results also. Figures show that the results in all the levels are below national average which is quite a pitiable situation. The success rate of level I which has made a good performance, according to the previous Ofsted report, has also declined sharply.
One of the major impacts of the new teaching and learning strategy is the appointment of a group of new teaches who are inexperienced, untrained and unqualified; who are, but enthusiastic about the new strategy. The repercussions of this change are felt not only in examination results, but also in curriculum, lesson observation and training. As the report says, the new structure has increased the managerial responsibilities of the staff, many of whom are inexperienced, but enthusiastic and committed to working for a common cause. Yet, there still remain obscurities, concerns and scepticism. As the report says, most of the members of the staff are very enthusiastic about the new teaching and learning strategy which presumably experiments with a number of new ideas. One particular venture is the classroom activity in which students get specific daily targets and get them signed off at the end of their successful completion. It is quite clear that this particular activity takes away the element of motivation for some students, since the whole activity ends with the completion of the assigned work and there is no scope or target for improvement or excellence. Read this along with our observation in the first part regarding the negative impacts of learning for the sake of testing or qualification.
From these analyses, we can see that the impacts of the new teaching and learning strategy in the Harlow College are manifold and felt in many areas of the day to day functioning of the institution. A natural and inherent unwillingness on the part of the staff to embrace new ideas and schemes, coupled with the inability of the management to convince and educate the teaching staff of the positive implications of the strategies resulted in the major negative changes in this adult learning institution.

CONCLUSION

Having examined the current thinking prevailing in the post-16 education sector that led to the birth of the new teaching and learning strategy at Harlow College, and analysed the official annual assessments and the subsequent college action towards improvement, we can now derive appropriate conclusions.
Further education sector has undergone many radical changes over the past 15 years, since the incorporation of colleges in 1993. As our literature review shows, all schemes and plans initiated by the government are, in all aspects, good and broad ones. The implementation of employability skills in college curriculum has to be done after a thorough research into the existing skills provision and identifying problem areas and deciding what further reforms can be added to it. What the government has to ensure is that, apart from being knowledgeable in their respective academic disciplines, every learner is fully equipped with the skills necessary for the successful blending of work and knowledge in the context of employment.
The changes in the further education sector have been overwhelming and demanding, however well-meant they may be. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that colleges like Harlow find it difficult to keep pace with this barrage of changes in teaching and learning strategy which demands a fast track delivery for greater achievement.
Thus, taking into consideration all the changes in the post-16 sector and the observations in the Ofsted reports, it is no wonder that the college has been unsuccessful in implementing the new strategies. Yet, a close view of the overall assessment of the performance of the college ,during and after the implementation of the new teaching and learning strategy, speaks of some consistency and improvement at Harlow that are not below the national framework standards. The new strategy will take some time to fully integrate into the system and flourish. Meanwhile, this educational institution will race forward, aiming at excellence, enriched with its experiences.