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Inspection cuts put children in danger, warn unions Ofsted, the UK's education and childcare watchdog, was yesterday accused of endangering children after it announced plans to cut 500 jobs and close eight regional offices. The move will see the number of staff employed at the organisation's London office cut by a third, as well as the closure of early years centres in Birmingham, Leeds, Woking, Harlow and London and support centres in Pudsey, Preston and Manchester by 2006. Last night Unison, which represents inspectors and administration staff, warned that the losses would have a damaging effect on Ofsted's frontline services. “The government says it wants to increase childcare provision and drive up standards, but cutting staff will seriously compromise those plans,” said the union's general secretary, Dave Prentis. The head of Ofsted, David Bell, insisted he was committed to safeguarding frontline services. “I deeply regret that as part of this programme it will be necessary to close some of our offices, but these changes are essential for Ofsted to continue to deliver high-quality, good-value services for the taxpayer,” he said. “The changes we are making ensure that we can continue to provide parents and the local community with a straightforward method of contacting Ofsted and accessing our reports and judgments, whilst allowing us to follow up queries and concerns just as effectively.” Ofsted has already announced plans to deliver savings of 20% by 2008 by reorganising in Bristol, Nottingham and Manchester. It also said it wanted to merge administrative support for early years and education inspections and scale down the size of its corporate headquarters. Yesterday's schools bill in the Queen's speech proposed a change in the organisation's procedures, with shorter, more regular inspections replacing the current six-year cycle. Last night the Public and Commercial Services union [PCS] said the cuts came against a background of low morale, poor working practices, bullying and harassment. “These cuts arise not from any rational analysis of what is needed to best meet the public's requirements in terms of school standards and child protection and will serve to only undermine and compromise the safety of children,” said Mark Serwotka, the PCS general secretary. “If the government and Ofsted are serious about driving up standards and the safety of children in early years then they should seriously think about the damaging impact these cuts will have.”
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