Administrative support for early years and education inspections will merge and there will be regional centres in Bristol, Nottingham and Manchester.
Early years centres in Leeds, Birmingham, Harlow, Woking and south London, along with support centres in Preston, Manchester and Pudsey, West Yorkshire, will close between September 2005 and March 2006.
The number of employees at Ofsted's London head office will also be reduced by 30 per cent.
The job cuts are a result of the Chancellor's Comprehensive Spending Review, attempting to save 20 per cent of its annual budget by 2008.
Chief Inspector of Schools David Bell said last week that he deeply regretted that it was necessary to close some offices, but that changes were 'essential for Ofsted to continue to deliver high-quality, good-value services to the taxpayer'.
He said childcare inspectors and schools inspectors would not lose their jobs, and sought to reassure parents that the 'home-based inspection workforce will remain a strong presence on the ground and in local areas'.
But Marion Dowling, president of Early Education and a former Ofsted inspector, said she was concerned about the loss of local support for inspectors, who often feel isolated. She said, 'I can't see that it's going to be any improvement. I think there is some implication for quality. You need more support, particularly in view of a new inspection framework.'
The Public and Commercial Services Union said the job losses came in the wake of an Ofsted staff survey last year that revealed low morale, particularly in the early years centres, where employees cited poor working practices, bullying and harassment. National officer Dean Rogers said one of the union's main concerns was that staff already at 'rock bottom' would leave rather than wait for redundancy payments, and he questioned how Ofsted would maintain service delivery.
He added, 'The change to the inspection cycle is a move being made because of cuts, that's our view. The idea of less regular inspections is totally against public opinion and unjustified.'
A suggested move to three-year inspections has not been formally decided upon, but it is likely to be put out for consultation soon by the Government.
Ofsted's early years director Maurice Smith told Nursery World, 'The interval between inspections is a matter for the Government, it's not a matter for Ofsted.' He said that the Government is required to consult the public before making such changes.
Mr Smith added, 'There will be no reduction in our commitment to applications and registration, to the investigation of complaints or to our enforcement action under our regulatory power. Our manpower resources committed to those remains identical and there will be no change there.'
Inspections at no notice would also 'considerably reduce administrative processes', Mr Smith said, because Ofsted would no longer need to write to providers in the month before inspection, meaning '100,000 less letters'.