Memorandum submitted by the Public and
Commercial Services Union (PCS) (OFS 6)
INTRODUCTION AND
SUMMARY
1. The Public and Commercial Service Union
(PCS) is the largest trade union within the Civil Service and
the second largest in Ofsted with 350 members.
2. PCS welcomes the Select Committee's call
for evidence on the work of Ofsted, and is happy to supplement
this written submission with oral evidence.
3. PCS remains concerned about the decision
to cut one in five jobs in Ofsted, and the impact that this will
have on our members and the efficient delivery of public services
by the department.
4. PCS is also concerned about the ability
of Ofsted to improve working conditions for staff in the department.
The publication of the staff attitude survey demonstrated some
poor management practices, PCS have secured agreement to review
these practices and we feel this process will be jeopardised by
the job cuts.
5. PCS is not opposed to change: we believe
that an inefficient, under-resourced and ineffective Ofsted does
not benefit ministers, the public or our members working in the
department.
6. This submission covers the following
issues:
— The work of Ofsted, including opposition
to the proposals to cut one in five jobs in the department and
plans for improvement in staff working conditions following the
staff attitude survey results.
THE WORK
OF OFSTED
7. PCS members in Ofsted were among the
staff that participated in the attitude survey conducted earlier
this year. The findings of the survey indicate that high numbers
of staff feel harassed, undervalued, overworked and bullied. Many
staff also feel that their targets are constantly changing and
that management are not supportive. Following discussions with
trade unions these issues are being addressed through a review
of all human resources procedures, including introducing a whistle
blowing policy, prioritising training on bullying and equality
issues for managers and the publication of a series of good practice
guides.
8. PCS members in Ofsted are shocked at
the suggestion that their jobs are not front-line and are therefore
expendable. The Chancellor's spending review highlighted efficiencies
required to achieve his aim of 100,000 job cuts. David Bell has
met with the trade unions to explain the consequences for Ofsted,
which sees less inspector and more administration posts cut. However,
this has not reassured members that their jobs are safe, as Mr
Bell estimates one in five jobs will have to go to achieve the
Chancellor's goal.
9. PCS is concerned that cuts will disproportionately
impact on black and ethnic minority staff as they are overwhelmingly
based in London and in the support grades. This is of particular
concern to us, as Ofsted wants to promote greater diversity in
the department.
10. PCS members respond to the public's
concerns on a daily basis and are fearful that in the future the
first point of contact for a distressed parent will be an answer
machine rather than a real person who can assist. PCS members
also streamline the inspection process for schools by writing
up Inspectorate reports, which ensures a more efficient inspection.
11. PCS fears that with rapidly expanding
nursery and early-years provision and the increased responsibility
for social service checks potentially coming to Ofsted as a result
of the Children's Bill, this additional work will not be manageable,
especially with the proposal to lose one in five staff working
in the department.
12. The cuts will have impact on the ability
of Ofsted staff to ensure that child protection/safety is not
compromised. Already Ofsted no longer carries out social service
checks on daycare staff; the proposed reduction in the inspection
cycle plus the directive to have more complaints against childcare
providers investigated by the providers concerned will exacerbate
this situation. This threat to child protection has not been properly
considered.
13. It seems inevitable that the proposed
cuts will negatively impact on the work PCS is undertaking with
the department to address the issues raised in the staff attitudes
survey. Ofsted has announced that more personnel functions will
be delegated to managers and we feel this could be detrimental
to achieving the improvements agreed unless large amounts of time
and money are spent on training managers and monitoring the situation.
CONCLUSION
14. PCS believes that expanding Ofsted's
roles and responsibilities will impact on the quality of service
the department provides. Currently, staff feel uneasy about targets
they are set and feel unsupported by management when trying to
achieve them. PCS believes that in order to offer the high quality
service to schools, the public and government resources at Ofsted
should not be cut, especially if the department is expected to
play a key role in registration and inspection of nursery and
early-years provision and childminders in an ever-expanding market.
15. PCS is concerned about the commitment
of the department in improving conditions for staff and hopes
that agreements with trade unions to improve the department and
its treatment of staff through a training programme for managers
and good practice guides is acted on swiftly to ensure the department
is run efficiently.
22 October 2004
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