The proposed salaries for childcare inspectors outside London range from Pounds 17,734 to 22,040, with senior childcare inspectors earning from Pounds 22,763 to 27,259. They are set out in Personnel Guidance on Early Years Transfer, which was published shortly before Christmas and is available on the Ofsted Internet website at www.ofsted.gov.ukAlan Jefferson, UK Chair of the National Association of Inspection and Registration Officers, said that although some would benefit, for many others the Ofsted salary would be lower than their current pay. Nobody who transfers will face a pay cut, since they are entitled to remain on their current contractual terms, but he said the payscale had left inspectors feeling that Ofsted placed less value on them than social services departments.
The performance-related pay element included in the salary structure and access to the civil service pension scheme did not compensate for this, Mr Jefferson added. He said, 'These proposals are not seen as particularly generous. It's added to some of the widespread anxieties about how this is going to operate.
'Lots of people have now begun to accept that whether they like it or not, home-based working is part of the new system. People are asking how will it work, how will the local presence be maintained. At this stage they haven't been reassured by the material in this personnel guide or the road shows. People are not confident the whole package is going to work, particularly by September.'
He added that the distribution of Personnel Guidance on Early Years Transfer had been patchy, and many staff had not received it until last week.
Bruni de la Motte, Unison national officer, said the structure of the pay scale was not transparent and it was not clear how Ofsted had arrived at the bands it set out and how staff could move from one band to another. She said, 'The salaries don't seem high enough to reflect the kind of work inspectors are doing. We are in negotiation and will seek clarification.' Diane Trout, chair of the Association of Advisors for Under-Eights and their Families, said, 'Ofsted said that around 60 per cent of inspectors are on this scale, and there are 20 per cent above and 20 per cent below. I think some people will be staying with the contracts they have.For others there was disappointment that the scales were not better.'
There are also concerns about travel expenses. Many local authorities pay a lump sum plus mileage, whereas Ofsted is offering to pay a 'competitive' mileage rate of 35p per mile only.
