CHAPTER 4 - Political Parties and School Government in England and Wales

Abstract

This chapter discusses political parties and school government in England and Wales. The idea of each school having a body of managers or governors is deeply rooted in the history of educational administration in England and Wales. It was not until the beginning of the present century that anything resembling a coherent national system developed. In 1899 the Board of Education came into existence and the Education Act, 1902 made the existing local authorities the authorities for education in their areas. The Board of Education strove hard to ensure that, by carefully drafted grant regulations, not only foundation secondary schools, but also county and municipal secondary schools should have their own governing bodies, with defined powers over finance, the admission of pupils, the curriculum and other matters. During the years following the Education Act, 1944 and indeed throughout the fifties there was little general or official interest in managing and governing bodies. The first stirrings of interest came in the early 1960s with the setting up of the Confederation of Associations for the Advancement of State Education (CASE), which drew together middle-class parents and community- conscious teachers aware of the changes in schooling that were taking place and anxious to play their part.