Revision Session:The Government & Education

Why did it intervene and what did it do ?

What existed before ?

• Before 1833 the government had a laissez-faire attitude; they did not feel the need to get involved with education for the working classes.

• Schools did exist for the rich and for the middle classes.

• Charity Schools, Dame Schools and Sunday Schools had all provided some education for the poor.

What existed before ?

• Monitorial Schools had been started at the beginning of the C19th.and had proved very popular.

• The setting up of 2 Voluntary Societies in 1808 & 1811 meant more monitorial schools were built.

• The National Society (which aimed to teach the beliefs of the Anglican religion) had built 3,500 schools by 1830.

So why did the government change its attitude ?

• The Government of the time were keen on reform; in 1834 they passed the Poor Law Amendment Act; in 1835 they passed the Municipal Corporations Act.

• In 1833 the first effective Factory Act was passed.

• This Act stopped children under 9 working in mills and said they should have 2 hours of schooling every day.

• But this meant that there needed to be more schools for them to go to.

What did the government do ?

• They decided to give money; this was to go to the Voluntary Societies to help them build more schools.

• The amount was £20,000 – which was not a great deal !

• However, this was the first time that the government had taken responsibility for education.

• It was a start !

Short answer questions

• A typical question (from 2003) is :-

Why did the government make a grant of £20,000 for education in 1833 ? (6)

Could you answer this now using the previous information ?

What did the government do next ?

• In 1839 they gave more money - £30,000.• However, they also wanted to check that this

was being spent wisely; to do this they set up a committee, called The Committee of the Privy Council. This was like an Education Department.

• The secretary was Dr. James Kay-Shuttleworth.• Inspectors were appointed to see that the money

was spent wisely.

Notice the pattern !

• The government gives money but also wants to monitor how it is spent.

• Inspectors are appointed – just like they were for factories.

• Once they get involved in education they start to notice the problems and so try to solve them.

• They have accepted the need for more schools – but realise there are not enough teachers.

Teacher Training

• The monitorial system which was used by the Voluntary Societies, only needed one teacher.

• However, although this meant these schools were cheap it also meant they were criticised.

• People like Robert Owen argued that they did not teach children properly; Dr Kay-Shuttleworth accepted that something had to be done.

• His solution was to set up a training scheme.

Teacher Training

• This training scheme was designed to provide trained teachers without spending too much money.

• So, a Pupil-Teacher System was developed; this meant that older students (usually over 13) worked as apprentice teachers, helping to teach younger children in the day and studying at night.

Teacher Training

• The Pupil-Teachers were encouraged to take exams and then to go to a Training College; the first one was set up in Battersea in 1841.

• This meant that the government was now taking on more responsibility by insisting that teachers were trained.

• In 1844 a Factory Act shortened the hours children could work in mills even more; the 1842 Mines Act had also cut hours for boys & girls. So, there was more time available for education.

Short answer questions

In what ways was education changed as a result of the Revised Code in 1862 ?

In order to gain the full 7 marks for this question what do you need to do ?

Explain what led to the Revised Code;

Explain what the Revised Code was;

Say how it was different to what existed before.

What led to the Revised Code ?

• By 1858 the government was spending a lot of money on education.

• Some people were concerned that it was not being spent sensibly.

• As usual, when it wants to investigate something, the government set up a Commission; this one was called The Newcastle Commission.

The Newcastle Commission

• The report of this commission found that many poor children were still not going to school on a regular basis.

• It was horrified that standards of teaching were not very good and that children didn`t seem to know much.

• So, the obvious solution was to make children go to school and put pressure on the teachers to do a better job.

The Revised Code

• This Revised (or new) system was set up in 1862.

• Schools would be visited by inspectors in order to see how much grant or money they were to get.

• The inspectors tested the children in the 3R`s and checked the registers for attendance.

• So, this system was called Payment by Results as teachers wages depended on how many children passed the tests and came to school.

How did this system change things for children ?

• Teachers taught to the test; this often meant learning by “rote”

• Other subjects tended to be ignored.

• There was cheating and false entries in registers.

• Children were limited in their education; they were only taught what they needed to know for the type of job they would get.

Any other changes ?

• The new system also involved a new department set up in London.

• This was called the Department of Education.

• The man in charge was Robert Lowe.

• The immediate effect was that the grants to schools dropped by nearly £200,000.

Essay Question

In what ways did government involvement in education change from 1870 to 1900 ?

You may use the following information to help you with your answer.

1870 Forster`s Education Act1876 Sandon`s Education ActHigher Grade SchoolsEnd of the Revised Code

Essay Question

Remember:1: The four points in the box will always be in the correct

order.2: Use the four points as a plan.3: You do not have to use all four points if you cannot

remember anything about one of them.4: The four points are not a complete answer. If you stick to

them, you will only get a Level 2 mark.5: If you want to reach Level 3, you will need to include own

knowledge and explain how the events are linked together.

Essay Question

• So, what is missing ?

• Perhaps you could include Mundella`s Act or the Act of 1891; together these made education compulsory to the age of 10 and made it free.

Forster`s Act of 1870

Why was it passed ?The working classes had been given the vote in

1867.Germany & the USA seemed to be developing

faster than Britain.The Industrial Revolution meant that there was a

lot of advanced technology for workers to use.The population had grown and there were not

enough Voluntary Schools to meet the demand.All these reasons meant that people needed to

read & write.

What did the Act say ?

• It decided that Voluntary Schools could build new church schools within 6 months.

• They would get extra money to do so.• After 6 months the government would identify

where there were gaps; any places that did not have a Voluntary School would get a new Board School.

• These were state schools and were funded by local councils who could raise money from ratepayers to build them.

What were these Board Schools like ?

• They were to be non-denominational; they were not to teach any particular religion.

• They could be free if the councils wanted this; in practice most schools did charge fees.

• They could be compulsory for children aged 5-13, but most were not.

What did Sandon`s Act say ?

• Parents were made responsible for their childrens ` education; they were supposed to send them to school.

• The Attendance Committees set up by this act could pay the fees of poor parents.

What were Higher Grade Schools ?

• These could be set up by School Boards.

• They were designed to provide more education at Higher Levels.

• This meant that children would have opportunities to get more qualifications and so get a better job.

Mundella`s Act

• This made attendance at school compulsory for children aged 5-10.

• Parents still had to pay.

• Education was not free until 1891.

The end of the Revised Code

• This ended in 1897.

• By 1900 children had to stay at school until they were 12.

• By the beginning of the C20th School Boards were replaced by Local Education Autorities.

The Essay Question

• Remember

• You need to link all these 4 (or 5) pieces of information together.

• Look back at the details of each one and work out what the link is.