150 years of school attendance
Following the Education Act (1870), the Elementary Education Act 1876 (Sandon's Act) (1876) compelled parents, for the first time, to send their children to school from the ages of five to ten. As time has passed and the school leaving age has gradually increased, one would expect compulsory school attendance to be simple and undisputed. Yet, more than 150 years on, school attendance remains as challenging as ever. The context has changed, but the issue remains: how do we make sure every child accesses education?
In the 19th century, taking children out of school was a financial necessity for some families; children could legally be employed before the age of ten, and poorer families couldn’t afford to send their children to school instead of work. Evolving labour laws and enforcement of compulsory school attendance quickly reconciled those competing interests.
These days, the factors behind attendance issues are wide ranging and deeply entrenched within broader sector issues. Post-pandemic, parents who adopted the role of ‘educator’ at home are now questioning the value of the traditional in-school model. Children who grew up in the pandemic are increasingly suffering from issues around emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA). Today, there is no simple issue, and there are no simple answers.
With plans to expand a school attendance mentoring scheme and calls for a national register of children not in school, the ambition to overcome attendance challenges is there, however, ultimately, success will depend on re-building trust with parents from the ground up: convincing them, once again, of the value of school attendance and its integral role in a child’s development. How that trust is built in practice is yet to be determined.
School leaving ages
Over the last 150 years, the school leaving age has gradually increased because of changes in society, evolving laws and opportunities that have been created to ensure that children are equipped to develop the skills required in later life.
To provide a timeline, the school-leaving age of children has changed as follows:
- 1893: 11 years old
- 1899: 12 years old
- 1918: 14 years old
- 1947: 15 years old
- 1972: 16 years old
More recently, the Education and Skills Act 2008 increased the minimum age at which young people in England can leave learning in England. This required them to continue in education or vocational training to the age of 17 from 2013 and to 18 since 2015.
In the 19th century, the age increases were driven by a need to improve the skills of the British workforce, maintain competitiveness and prepare children for their newfound voting rights. More recent changes originate from the belief that education/training facilitates the development of skills required in later life and opens doors to future employment opportunities. It is believed that this would reduce the risk of unemployment, boost earning potential and allow for the development of a variety of skills being offered in different educational environments.
Ultimately, society needed these reforms, particularly considering that from 1959 to 2011 unemployment was one of society’s biggest issues. In contrast, by 2018, unemployment figures were at one of the all-time lowest and this can be partly credited to keeping children in the education system longer and having the skills best suited for modern-day employment.
There is a commitment to providing post-16 options to keep children in education longer and we have recently seen the introduction of T levels as an alternative to A levels. We have also seen the requirement for all state-funded secondary schools to provide independent careers guidance to aid pupils making their next important life decision. However, investing in making post-16 options more relevant and accessible, and funding and resourcing schools to provide careers guidance, is integral to ensuring that all children can succeed.
Elementary Education Act of 1870
The Elementary Education Act of 1870, also known as the Forster’s Education Act, was established as the founding piece of legislation proactively addressing the provision of education within England and Wales on a national scale.
Its motivation was to seek education for all children that was free from religious control, compulsory and without financial constraints.
The Act adopted reforms that permitted public funding for schools and introduced inspections by the Act’s established school boards, ensuring the delivery of a higher quality of education. Additionally, although the 1870 Act did not make schooling compulsory itself, it is deemed to be responsible, together with other education legislation from the 19th century, for driving forward this objective. The growing demand for compulsory school attendance was addressed further by the 1880 Education Act, which alongside combating the prevalent issues concerning child labour, made school attendance compulsory from the ages of five to ten.
Fast forward to schooling today and compulsory school attendance has now been extended to 18 in the UK, until which time children must be involved, either through education or specific training courses, in compulsory education.
Although the general direction of education in the 19th century showed advancement away from teachings through religious connections, some specific schools still wished for a continuation of denominational teachings. The 1870 Act resolved these competing interests by giving schools themselves autonomy over their religious teachings, allowing existing religious voluntary schools to remain, while the newly appointed school boards opened schools that were non-denominational.
The Act can be said to have contributed, at least in part, to a solution to the religious difficulties in English education. It is reported as having initiated what is now known as ‘state education’ in England and the dual system of state, or more strictly, local authority schools alongside a voluntary sector. The Act can be said to have facilitated the advancement of basic schooling to all children, especially for the most deprived members of society, and for education to have subsequently become compulsory by 1880 and eventually free by 1891.
This guidance has been provided by Browne Jacobson LLP