Inspection support staff at Ofsted are to stage a series of strikes in a dispute over pay, pensions and jobs.
Members of the Public and Commercial Service (PCS) union at the school inspection body will take 12 days of industrial action between 6-29 March.
Union officials said the action will impact Ofsted’s school inspections by ”limiting the support available to inspectors in the field”.
And they warned the disruption could affect Ofsted’s ability to hit government inspection targets.
The walkouts will involve union members in Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Nottingham offices who provide administrative support for inspectors and deal with queries from the public.
PCS has 321 staff at Ofsted, including 25 members who work in inspection support.
Tes understands these members of staff provide administrative support from the beginning to the end of the school inspection process, including supporting inspectors, fielding queries from schools and parents and arranging the publication of reports.
Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “Our hardworking members at Ofsted provide important backup to inspectors so our strike action is likely to affect their ability to hit government targets.
“Our members are fed up with being taken for granted by a government that’s imposed a 2 per cent pay rise at a time when inflation is running at 10 per cent.
“Until ministers come to the table with some money, our strikes will continue to escalate.”
The strike is the latest escalation of the union’s national campaign, which has included strikes by driving test examiners and Border Force staff.
Commenting on the government announcement of a £5.4 billion surplus last month, Mr Serwotka said: “The government says it cannot afford to give our members a pay rise, but today’s news shows ministers have no excuse for not putting some money on the table.”
In 2021, Ofsted was given more than £23 million in extra funding from the government to ensure it can inspect all schools by the summer of 2025.
Ofsted has been contacted for comment.
