The pay ranges proposed are based on research throughout the 150 local authorities in England, where we found an enormous range of salaries. Basic grade inspectors doing the same job are currently being paid anything between 13,000 and 27,000, depending on location.
Key points of the Ofsted proposals are that nobody transferring will earn less than they do now; about one in five will get a pay increase to bring them into our existing pay ranges; all staff would be able to join the non-contributory civil service pension scheme - worth an additional five per cent take-home pay; and they would be eligible for rewards under Ofsted's performance bonus scheme.
We believe our decision not to sink money into the bricks and mortar of a large office network has enabled us to invest in the lifeblood of the organisation -our staff - with this package.
Ofsted has just embarked on a second countrywide series of staff conferences to explain the terms and conditions on offer. A personnel helpline has been open since September, and key elements of the package are still being discussed with Unison and the other unions at a series of meetings.
It is disappointing that Alan Jefferson of NAIRO saw fit to make an issue of salaries with Nursery World but did not do so at the most recent meeting of the Ofsted consultancy group, of which he is a member.
We hope that most staff involved in inspection and registration will transfer to Ofsted. But the choice will be theirs, and arrangements have been made with local authorities to seek alternatives for those who choose not to.
Jonathan Lawson, head of communications, Ofsted
