PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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On December 20th 1902 Royal Assent was given to a new Education Act that abolished the School Boards and transferred their schools, and those of the religious organisations, to the County and County Borough Councils. This meant that the cost of providing education was now chargeable to the local "rates". While the schools in Plymouth and Devonport passed to their respective County Borough Councils, the ones in the East Stonehouse Urban District Council area and the outlying parishes of St Budeaux, Tamerton Foliot, Eggbuckland, Plympton St Mary, Plympton St Maurice and Plymstock all passed to the Devon County Council. The Act gave these new Local Education Authorities (LEAs) powers to establish new secondary and technical schools in addition to the existing elementary ones, for which the County Borough Councils were able to charge an extra tuppence in the pound on the rates. This was supplemented, it seems, by monies collected under the Customs and Excise Act 1890, commonly called "whiskey money". By providing that every school was governed by a body of managers, this Act took away the election of local school boards and the ability of local nonconformist churchmen (and women) to influence local education, as they had done under the previous system. It is said that this became a major political issue throughout the country and was one of the main reasons that the Conservatives lost the 1906 General Election to the Liberal Party. In the case of the former Board schools, known as "Provided Schools", two-thirds of the managers were to be appointed by the local authority and in the case of the former Church, or "Non-provided Schools", one-third of the members were to be Council appointed. The Local Education Authority was responsible for both the provision and maintenance of "Provided" schools but in the case of the "Non-Provided" ones it was the managers who took that responsibility. They were also required to make alterations and improvements as reasonably required by the Authority. However, the LEA had to make good all fair wear and tear. Interestingly, the new Act made liaison with the Police more useful as they were now empowered to report the names of children found in the streets when they should have been at school. DEVONPORT
LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITY (until 1914) In that same year the Provision of School Meals Act was passed but there is no information at present as to what extent this was acted upon in the Three Towns. The response is thought to have been very low. Following the amalgamation of Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport in 1914, the Local Education Authorities became one and took over from the Urban District of Stonehouse the responsibility for Stonehouse. PLYMOUTH LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITY
(from 1914 onwards) The school-leaving age was raised from ten to fourteen years under the power of the Herbert Fisher's Education Act 1918. It was also as a result of this Act that other services such as medical inspections, nursery schools and schools for pupils with special needs were started. There were two World Wars within the period under consideration. The Great War of 1914-18 certainly disrupted some schools in the area, which were used as military hospitals. The Blitz affected pupils in the Second World War, 1939-45, and many schools were evacuated to Cornwall. At the start of the Second World War a coalition government was formed under the leadership of Mr (later Sir) Winston Churchill. His Ministers started to plan for a new Britain when hostilities ceased and one of their reforms was Rab Butler's Education Act 1944, which marked the start of the post-war reorganisation of education.
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