{"id":15401,"date":"2022-05-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=15401"},"modified":"2022-05-12T16:49:32","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T14:49:32","slug":"discover-school-attendance-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/2022\/05\/03\/discover-school-attendance-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover School attendance records"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Discover
School attendance records<\/span><\/h2>\n\n

Ruth A Symes <\/strong>explains the evolution of compulsory education, and how to find out more about your ancestor\u2019s school days
<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Homeless boys are taken in hand by the London School Board, 1871<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

T<\/span>he Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the protracted absence of students and staff in schools up and down the country, and with them, lots of anxieties: worries about staffing, concerns about students\u2019 achievement in forthcoming exams, questions about the role of parents, and concerns about the physical and mental health of the pupils themselves. Even in better times, school attendance has often been in the news with parents facing being sent to parenting classes, fined or even receiving jail sentence if they don\u2019t ensure that their children are educated.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Children 10\u201313 could be excused from school for half of every day <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

For our ancestors similarly, the issue of school attendance was a hot topic in Parliament and the press. The 1870 Elementary Education Act, set the framework to provide education for all children aged 5\u201313 in England and Wales.<\/span> In Scotland, a similar act was passed in 1872 but it made school attendance compulsory. The 1876 Elementary Education Act made it the responsibility of every parent to see that their children received suff<\/span>icient elementary education in reading, writing and arithmetic.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

From this point, school attendance committees were set up in every area of the country. Moreover, pupils could not leave school at age 10 unless they reached a certain standard (thereby gaining a School Leaving Certificate AKA Labour Certificate), and had also met certain attendance requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Additionally, in 1878, via the Factory and Workshop Act, the Government introduced the \u2018halftime system\u2019 whereby children aged 10\u201313 could be excused from school for half of every day, or for alternate days of the week if their family needed them to work. Further Acts towards the end of the 19th century reinforced government responsibility for children\u2019s school attendance.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Key to this new ethos was the belief that the improvement of children depended upon regular attendance at school. This meant that over the following decades, increasingly stringent measures were taken by the Government and schools themselves to monitor attendance and describe absence.<\/p>\n\n

These included the use of registers and logbooks, school inspections by external officers, and parental penalties for non-attendance.<\/p>\n\n

In 1879 a widow from Lindal-in-Cartmel in Lancashire named Margaret Woodburne was hauled in front of the local school attendance officer because she had failed to send her 9\/10-year-old daughter to school for the past three months, and had also failed to fill in the requisite \u2018excuse papers\u2019 for the local school board. Woodburne argued that she needed her daughter to stay at home and look after her new baby, while she herself worked.<\/p>\n\n

She also stated that she could not afford to lose her wages even for the one day that she was required to appear before the attendance committee, and that she did not understand the papers that she had been sent.<\/p>\n\n

NEWSPAPER CRUSADE<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

The local newspaper, Soulby\u2019s Ulverston Advertiser and General Intelligencer, argued that although education had recently been \u201cdeemed essential to the well-being of the offspring of even the poorest in the land\u201d, it would do no good if families were thereby \u201cunable to put breads in the mouths of their children\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

To underline its condemnation of the case against her, the paper pointed out a shocking fact. Three out of every 100 people in England and Wales (from a population of approximately 25 million) were currently in receipt of workhouse relief, and this number might confidently be expected to increase to four or even five in every 100 \u201cby too great severity and harshness on the part of the School Board<\/span> Committee(s)\u201d. In other words, forcing all children to go to school could overwhelm the relief system and cause terrible suffering.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n

22m <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The number of children of elementary school age who were receiving no schooling according to the 1861 census<\/p>\n\n\n\n

82<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The percentage of children regularly attending elementary school in the early 1890s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

300,000<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The number of children working in employment outside school hours in 1901<\/p>\n\n\n\n

328<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The number of local education authorities established by the 1902 Balfour Act<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

673,000<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The number of children evacuated from British cities in the first three days of September 1939<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

Furthermore, the paper continued, if older children were compelled to go to school, and parents still had to go out to work, then terrible accidents might befall the babies and toddlers left at home. In such cases, would not the school board committee or attendance officer be responsible for the fatalities? For our ancestors it seems, school attendance was a matter closely intertwined with both the economic stability and the moral wellbeing of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Of course, many of our ancestors were able to keep up a regular attendance. Schools rewarded compliance with the rules with incentives such as books with inscribed bookplates, certificates and medals (see the box on page 30). You may already have come across such items among family memorabilia.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

FINDING A FOREBEAR\u2019S SCHOOL<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Bookplates can provide very direct information about which school your ancestor attended, but sometimes locating the exact establishment can be more of a challenge. Most ordinary children in the late Victorian period would have attended the church or board school nearest to their home, and a local librarian should be able to name the school(s) that your ancestor potentially attended. Trade directories should also list local schools; you can find them at local libraries, family history<\/span> websites and the University of Leicester\u2019s site Special Collections Online (<\/span>specialcollections.le.ac.uk<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Children at a school in Chelsea, West London, in the late 19th century<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Some school records, including registers and logbooks concerned with pupils\u2019 attendance, are also on the commercial genealogical websites. Records of many more schools might be found in county and local record offices. You can search for the location of these using The National Archives\u2019 online catalogue Discovery (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/find-an-archive<\/a>) or check the National Records of Scotland guide at tinyurl.com\/nrs-educ<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The records for ancestors who attended still-existing grammar and public schools might be found at the schools themselves, so visit their websites for contact details.<\/p>\n\n

EXCUSES AND PENALTIES<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Many parents objected to the directive that children should attend school every weekday. Indignant farmers complained that local children should not be forced into schools in the harvesting times of July and September when fruit and hops needed to be gathered; and representatives of poor urban localities argued the need for older children to bring in a wage or, like Margaret Woodburne\u2019s daughter, help with childminding duties while parents worked.<\/span> A vast range of other reasons was recorded by teachers and inspectors for non-attendance, such as sickness, bereavement, \u201crecovering from vaccination\u201d and inclement weather.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

In the early days of universal education, rules for attendance were not strictly enforced. Moreover, penalties for nonattendance depended upon local bylaws put together by the newly created local school attendance committees. There were many loopholes in the system with some exemptions allowed because of long-term illness, juvenile employment and the long distances in some places between some homes and schools. In short, in the late 19th century there were plenty of reasons why your ancestor might not have attended every day.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Parents who were penalised because their children missed school might have found their way into local newspapers. You can find accounts of such cases in the British Newspaper Archive<\/span> (britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk<\/a>), and they make fascinating reading.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Schoolgirls line up for a portrait, c1918 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Despite the actions of school inspectors and attendance boards, the system of school attendance remained far from watertight for decades. One inspector, Seymour Tremenheere, wrote in 1884, of the situation in the district of Kendal, that 1,000 eligible local students were entirely missing from the school registers and another 1,600 were not regular attenders. He advocated more accountability on the part of school inspectors, and harsher penalties. The local practice of giving parents a month\u2019s warning before fining them, for example, meant they had to face nothing worse than six warnings a year.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

THE IMPACT OF WAR<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Sometimes school attendance was beyond the control of individual families. In the First World War farmers and parents could apply for Certificates of Exemption to allow children to miss school and pick fruit and vegetables, and many schools closed during the influenza pandemic that began in 1918, although there was no national imperative to do so.<\/p>\n\n

In the Second World War, schooling was first interrupted by mass evacuation in September 1939. This meant that, by the end of that year, one million children had had no schooling for four months. Later many classes were brought to a premature end by air raids. In other cases, school buildings were requisitioned for the war e ort. In comparison, the interruptions to schooling caused by Covid-19 \u2013 mitigated in part by online teaching \u2013 perhaps appear less dramatic.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

School attendance milestones<\/span><\/h3>\n\n

How did these affect your relations?
<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

1870<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

The Elementary Education Act sets the framework to offer schooling for all children between the ages of 5 and 13. A similar act in Scotland in 1872 enforces compulsory attendance.<\/p>\n\n

1876<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Lord Sandon\u2019s Education Act makes parents responsible for ensuring that their children attend elementary school. All school boards are now required to set up school attendance committees.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

1878<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

The Factory and Workshop Act forbids children under 10 from factory work. Workers aged 10\u201313 must attend school half-time.<\/p>\n\n

1880<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

The Elementary Education Act (Mundella\u2019s Act) makes schooling compulsory for those aged 5\u201310 in England and Wales. School attendance officers are forced to take action if children do not attend.<\/p>\n\n

1891<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Another Elementary Education Act abolishes fees for elementary schools and makes them free for the first time.<\/p>\n\n

1893<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

The Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act increases the school leaving age to 11. Six years later another Act increases it again to 12.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

1911<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Children walk out of a school in Llanelli in a protest over corporal punishment. This leads to pupils briefly going on strike across the UK, including in Shoreditch (pictured). <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

1918<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

An Education Act drawn up by the president of the Board of Education Herbert Fisher makes the school leaving age 14.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

1944<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Richard Butler\u2019s Education Act creates a Ministry of Education. The leaving age becomes 15, and the system of elementary, secondary and further education is formalised. A similar Act for Scotland follows in 1945.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n

Researching school attendance <\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A range of sources can shed light on your forebear\u2019s time at school<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AUTOBIOGRAPHIES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The site Writing Lives (writinglives.org<\/a>) features memoirs from the Burnett Archive of Working Class Autobiographies at Brunel University Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FAMILY MEMORABILIA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look out for bookplates in books given as prizes, school reports, certificates of attendance, medals, newspaper clippings, exam certificates and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOCAL ARCHIVES\u2019 MATERIAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find records relating to individual schools via Discovery (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk<\/a>). Relevant documents include school absence inquiry sheets, absence reports and medical certificates. Public schools may have old attendance records in their own archives. For Scottish records see <\/span>tinyurl.com\/nrs-educ<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEWSPAPERS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Search the British Newspaper Archive (britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk<\/strong><\/a>) <\/strong>for accounts of cases where penalties for school absences were issued to named parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ORAL HISTORIES<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the British Library Sounds archive (sounds.bl.uk<\/a>) you can search by keyword and hear interviews with people speaking about their time at school over 100 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Search the debates on school attendance at tinyurl.com\/parl-hansard<\/a>. <\/strong>Summaries of school inspection reports (1840\u20131899) can be seen at parlipapers.proquest.com\/parlipapers <\/a><\/strong>via institutions that subscribe to ProQuest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REGISTERS AND LOGBOOKS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk<\/a>) has a national collection of registers and logbooks from church, board, elementary and secondary schools. Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk<\/strong><\/a>) <\/strong>has many London schools and TheGenealogist (thegenealogist.co.uk<\/a>) has some published registers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

Attendance records<\/span><\/h5>\n\n

Did an ancestor win a school attendance medal?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n

School boards across the country often rewarded good attendance with tangible tokens, such as books, medals and paper certificates during periods when metal was harder to come by, such as the second half of the First World War. During 1887\u20131920, the London School Board used a system of awards known consecutively as the Queen Victoria Medal, the King Edward VII Medal and then the King\u2019s Medal according to the monarch who was reigning at the time.<\/p>\n\n

A research guide on the London Metropolitan Archives\u2019 website at tinyurl.com\/lma-school-medals<\/a> <\/strong>explains how different-coloured ribbons were used at different times. The rules of attendance were strict, allowing only for a couple of absences that had been clearly flagged up by parents in advance. As well as punctuality at the twice-daily registrations (9am and 2pm), the children had to have exhibited \u201ccleanliness, tidiness and good conduct\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

Other schools, especially independent ones, struck their own distinctive medals. You can see what they looked like by searching online, since they frequently come up for sale.<\/p>\n\n

Finally, exceptional examples of medal acquisition might feature in local or even national newspapers. <\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n

Resources <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Take your research further<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOOKS<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Absent Through Want of Boots:<\/em> Diary of a Victorian School in Leicestershire<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Elverstone <\/strong>The History Press, 2014<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This history is based on the headmasters\u2019 first-hand accounts in the logbooks of Albert Road Board School, which opened in 1878.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Children of London: Attendance and Welfare at School 1870\u20131990<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Susan Williams, Patrick Ivin and Caroline Morse <\/strong>Institute of Education, 2001<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This title charts the development of the school attendance service and care committees in the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MUSEUMS AND SOCIETIES <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

BRITISH SCHOOLS MUSEUM <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a 41\/42 Queen Street, Hitchin,<\/strong> Hertfordshire SG4 9TS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

t 01462 420144<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

w britishschoolsmuseum.org.uk<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based in a former 19th-century school, the museum tells the story of early education and childhood.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HISTORY OF EDUCATION SOCIETY <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a School of Education, Oxford Brookes University, Harcourt Hill Campus, Oxford OX2 9AT <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

e susannahwright138@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/em>w historyofeducation.org.uk<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The society promotes both the study and teaching of the history of education in the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a 40 Northampton Road, London<\/strong> ECIR 0HB <\/strong> t 0207 332 3820 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

w search.lma.gov.uk<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can make an appointment to view medals for school attendance that have been deposited at the London Metropolitan Archives.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EDUCATION <\/p>\n\n\n\n

w nationaleducationmuseum.uk<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is an ongoing project to set up a National Museum of Education for the UK based in Portsmouth. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ruth A Symes is a historian. Her books include Tracing <\/em>Your <\/em>Ancestors <\/em>Through <\/em>Letters <\/em>and <\/em>Personal <\/em>Writings <\/em>(2016)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

Photos: GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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