When was education made compulsory

The Act established the framework for compulsory schooling of all children in England and Wales between ages 5 and 12 in England and Wales, however the bill did not entirely require education of children, and in any case the education had to be paid for by the parents.

There were objections to the concept of universal education. One was because many people remained hostile to the idea of mass education. They claimed it would make labouring classes 'think' and that these classes would think of their lives as dissatisfying and possibly encourage them to revolt.

Fastback Series, No. Bicentennial Series. Although some critics of public education are now questioning the value of compulsory schooling for all children, this concept is deeply ingrained in American history and social values. The first compulsory education law in this country was enacted in in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritan notion of education as a moral, social obligation was thus given the sanction of law, a pattern later followed by nineteenth century crusaders for free public education.

The Act also allowed parents to withdraw their children from religious education, potentially undermining the role of the Church. Many families themselves objected to compulsory education, arguing they needed children to earn a wage. Unsurprisingly the Act also established attendance officers to enforce attendance and parents could be fined for keeping their children out of school. Schools are required to deal with a significantly enlarged student body and this can create logistical problems with staff and classroom numbers.

This helped schools manage capacity problems as pupils spent a year longer at primary school and came to secondary school later. There are now fewer than middle schools in England, concentrated in 22 LEAs. After the Act schools were provided with temporary buildings to house their new final year. These became known as ROSLA Raising school leaving age buildings and were delivered to schools as self assembly packs.

Although not designed for long-term use, many schools continued using them. There is also scepticism that the school leaving age is increased at times when the government wishes to reduce the number of young people seeking employment, and thereby increasing the unemployment statistics.

The latest ambitions to increase the education leaving age to 18 have not been without controversy. Former education secretary Alan Johnson defended the proposals. Pointing to a decline in unskilled jobs, he said young people must be equipped to meet the demands of modern employment.

Teaching groups initially reacted angrily to the proposals, questioning how the government intended to enforce the new increased leaving age — although this would have been a factor for all previous governments to consider.

Other critics said the government needed to look at why young people were opting out of education at 16, pointing out that many people already required to remain in education until 16 left without a formal qualification. It is a tragedy for the young people involved — a ticking time bomb for the economy and our society as a whole.

Swipe to read more. Author: Politics. What is the school leaving age?