Her Majesty’s inspectorate of schools in England and Wales 1860-1870

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to examine in detail the Inspectorate in the 1860’s and in particular the effect of the1862 Revised Code on the inspectors' work. The background to the Revised Code is outlined, with emphasis on the early development of the Inspectorate and the extent to which the I846 Pupil-Teacher Minutes changed the nature of the inspectors' task. After a chapter on the Report of the Newcastle Commission, the evolution of the Revised Code and the debate which led to its alteration are examined and placed in the context of contemporary social attitudes. This includes a section on inspectors' opinions of the Revised Code and, in the following chapter, the effect of the new Code on the inspection of schools. Throughout, attention is given to the influence of the religious bodies on elementary education and its inspection. The careers of the inspectors, which are given fully in an appendix, are analysed and, using their own writings as evidence, the inspectors' attitudes to their work are summarised. This examination of the writings of the H.M.I.s is then broadened to cover their opinions on the educational issues of the 1860s. The extent to which these writings were subjected to censorship by the Privy Council Office is discussed in the context of the developing relationship between the government and its officials and the emphasis by the Office on the subordinate nature of the Inspectorate. After studying the effects of the Revised Code on the inspectors, teachers and school managers, this discussion is then extended into a fuller exploration of the relationship between the Education Office and its Inspectorate in the 1860s.The thesis includes a brief survey of other school inspectors and ends with an account of the part that the H.M.I.s played in the genesis of the 1870 Education Act.