A probably easier way to achieve this:
CGFloat dummyViewHeight = 40;
UIView *dummyView = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, self.tableView.bounds.size.width, dummyViewHeight)];
self.tableView.tableHeaderView = dummyView;
self.tableView.contentInset = UIEdgeInsetsMake(-dummyViewHeight, 0, 0, 0);
