| Administrative History | The Board of Education was established on 01 April 1900 following the Board of Education Act of 1899. It replaced the previous Education Department and became the sole central authority for primary, secondary and technical education. Its function was the superintendance of matters relating to education in England and Wales with the President of the Board being responsible to Parliament. Despite the original intentions however, the Board was not given overall control. The status of a Board was less than that of a government ministry and during its long history it never formally met.
Its' responsibilities were extended by subsequent Education Acts in 1902, 1918 and 1921. The 1902 Act, in particular, replaced the local school boards and bodies of school managers with local education authorities, empowered to provide secondary as well as elementary education.
In the early 1900s the Board dispersed grants totalling £25,000 to the London Polytechnics in order to promote technical education. The amount of public finding that was dispersed meant that the Board also had the powers of inspection and therefore employed a staff of inspectors.
Following the Education Act of 1944, the Board of Education was succeeded by a Ministry of Education, headed by a single Minister. Education policy in England and Wales was directed by the Ministry until 1964.
Source: Barnard, H C - A History of English Education from 1760. University of London Press, 1971.; Webb, Sidney, - London Education, Longmans, 1904; National Register of Archives. |