Ofsted, the schools standards watchdog which is to take lead responsibility for the inspection of all post-16 provision next year, appears to favour measures unpopular with colleges, according to the first consultation on the forthcoming Learning and Skills Council's inspection framework.
It is understood to prefer a system in which college "nominees" have a reduced role in mediating with inspectors, and in which college's self-assessment reports take a less prominent role. The future of both of these elements are raised in the Ofsted paper, Inspecting Post-16 Education and Training.