The "supposedly independent body" of Ofsted has been accused of "doing the work of the education secretary".

Christine Blower, the leader of the National Union of Teachers, made the claim after it was announced that Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, is to introduce a new inspection regime.

Under the revised approach to school checks, people in head teacher jobs are to be informed of an inspection 24 hours before it is due to take place.

The announcement has already attracted the ire of teaching union leaders, however, with Ms Blower suggesting that the inspectorate has bowed to pressure from Michael Gove, the education secretary.

"This relentless onslaught on dedicated and committed teachers by Ofsted must stop," she said. "School leaders feel entirely ground down by Ofsted."

Echoing this view is Nansi Ellis, head of education policy at the ATL teachers' union, who explained that Ofsted is "discredited in the eyes of many teachers and needs to even work harder to regain their trust".

Capita Education Services, leaders in teacher recruitment and education jobs.