Education Department

Before 1870, the provision of elementary education in the county was left to private initiative and to the Churches, which had formed national organisations to promote the foundation of schools - the National Society and the British and Foreign Society. Despite assistance from central government, in the form of building grants, voluntary effort proved unable to cope with the expanding population of nineteenth century England. The Elementary Education Act of 1870, divided the country into school districts - boroughs or parishes - and required those districts where voluntary provision was insufficient to establish School Boards, empowered to raise a local rate to pay for new schools, which were to be non-denominational. Government grants were also available under the 'Payment by Results' system, administered by the Education Department. Boards could make education compulsory in their districts if they wished - not all did, and it was not until 1876 that compulsory elementary education was introduced nationally.

The records of the School Boards may be found with those of the Divisional Executives that took over their functions when they were abolished in 1902 [oab]CED 1-17[cab] or with records of the Borough Councils that later functioned as Local Education Authorities.

An account of the development of elementary education in Cheshire may be found in the Victoria County History of Cheshire, vol iii, which states that by 1900, provision in rural areas was on a par with other counties "reasonably efficient at a rudimentary level, but unambitious and offering no progression to secondary or higher education", whereas the towns "failed miserably to respond to the problems and opportunities of the School Board period".

Elementary education, as a politically contentious subject, was excluded from the responsibilities of the County Councils, created in 1888.

However, the Technical Instruction Acts of 1889 and 1891 empowered County Councils to provide for technical, manual and scientific education beyond elementary level, financed by funds raised under the Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act of 1890 - the so-called 'whisky money'. To this end, the County Council established its first Education Committee - the Technical Instruction Committee [oab]CCC1/2/1/1[cab] in 1891, which provided scholarships and grants to grammar and high schools and also established a Dairy Institute at Worleston [oab]CCC1/2/4/1[cab] and agricultural training colleges at Saltersford Hall and Holmes Chapel.

1902-1944

The Education Act of 1902 abolished the administrative confusion of over 2,500 School Boards and some 800 School Attendance Committees, replacing them with the 300 County and County Borough Councils, which were to act as local education authorities. These LEAs were intended to co-ordinate elementary and higher education, setting up "the ladder from elementary school to the University", by providing scholarships for promising pupils from the elementary schools. In Cheshire, this meant that the County Council assumed responsibility for 28 School Boards and over 300 elementary schools. An Education Committee was established [oab]CCC1/2/2[cab], consisting of 54 members, 12 of whom were co-opted from persons with specialist knowledge. At its first meeting, in May 1903, the Education Committee appointed a number of sub-committees -a) 23 Area Sub-Committees comprised of county councillors, representatives of county districts and co-opted members, which were to have basic supervisory powers over the elementary schools in their areas. Subsequently, the six non-county boroughs - Congleton, Crewe, Dukinfield, Hyde, Macclesfield and Stalybridge - took control of their own schools and the remaining sub-committees were re-organised into 17 areas [oab]CED 1-17[cab].

b) Agricultural Education Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/3[cab] which took over responsibility for the agricultural and horticultural training schools from the Technical Instruction Committee, subsequently acquiring new premises - Henhull Hall farm (1914) and Reaseheath Hall farm (1919), which became the County Agricultural College.

c) Finance Sub-Committee [oab]minutes may be found with those of the Education Committee [oab]CCC1/2/2[cab]; after 1939

Education Finance Sub-Committee CCC1/2/7[cab] to check the quarterly accounts and prepare annual estimates.

d) Higher Education Sub-Committee [oab]minutes may be found with those of the Education Committee CCC1/2/2[cab] to provide for scholarships, teacher training and other forms of special and higher education. It, in turn, established its own sub-committees for Secondary Schools [oab]CCC1/2/5[cab]; Physical Training; Training College (a training college for teachers was opened in 1912 at Crewe); Technical and Art, subsequently the Technical, Art and Youth Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/8/1[cab] and an Examinations Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/6[cab].

In 1905, a Plans and Buildings Sub-Committee [oab]minutes may be found with those of the Education Committee CCC1/2/2[cab] was established to deal with school buildings.

Following the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act of 1907, which introduced compulsory medical examinations in elementary schools; empowered LEAs to acquire school sites by compulsory purchase and required grant-aided secondary schools to allot a number of free places to selected pupils from elementary schools, an Elementary Schools Sub-Committee was established [oab]minutes may be found with those of the Education Committee CCC1/2/2[cab], which, in turn, established its own sub-committees for Libraries [oab]see CCC1/2/15[cab]; Religious Instruction; School Canteens and Voluntary School Improvement.

1944-1974

The structure of educational administration was transformed by the Education Act of 1944, to deal with which the Education Committee established an Education Act 1944 Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/9/1[cab]. The act reduced the number of LEAs by more than half and the non-county boroughs, which had maintained their own primary schools, lost control of them to the County Council. The category of elementary school was abolished and all pupils were to proceed to secondary education "The Act regarded education as a lifelong process organised in three progressive stages of primary, secondary and further education. It placed upon LEAs the duty of contributing towards 'the spiritual, moral, mental and physical development of the community by ensuring that efficient education throughout those stages should be available to meet the needs of the population of their area'" - S.J. Curtis History of Education in Great Britain. For the first time, a county-wide education policy had become possible. The sub-committees of the Education Committee were re-organised, to create a Primary Education Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/11[cab]; a Secondary Education Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/5[cab] and a Further Education Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/8[cab]. The Administrative Sub-Committees - except for Tarvin and Knutsford - were replaced by Divisional Executive Committees [oab]CED 1-17[cab].

The increasing post-war demand for further education was recognised by the creation of a Joint Governing Body for Central Colleges of Further Education [oab]CCCJ 3/1[cab]. By 1956, the Council provided full-time educational establishments at Eastham, Hyde, Crewe, Northwich, Sale, Macclesfield and Runcorn. Youth work, originally the responsibility of the Further Education Sub-Committee, was entrusted to the Youth Employment and Training Sub-Committee [oab][oab]the minutes may be found with those of the Education Committee CCC1/2/2[cab], established in 1949; the Service of Youth Inter Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/18[cab], established in 1962; the Service of Youth Joint Training Committee [oab]CCC1/2/19[cab] and the Youth Advisory Committee [oab]CCC1/2/10[cab], established in 1968.

The County Libraries Sub-Committee, established in 1937, continued until 1965, when the Library Service was separated from the Education Service. The committee structure became increasingly complex and unwieldy - in 1967, the Special Sub-Committee on the Simplification of County Administration [oab]CCC1/6/8/1[cab] reported that "The Education Committee has become almost a County Council in miniature. In 1965, for example, there were 329 meetings of the Committee, its Sub-Committees, Divisional Executives and Youth Employment Committees. These meetings resulted in the submission to the Council during the year of 1492 pages of minutes - rather more than the minutes of all other Committees and sub-committees of the Council put together". It recommended that the Education Committee should be reduced in size and that its delegated powers should be brought into line with general Council practice.

Post-1974

Following the re-organisation of local government, the Divisional Executive Committees were abolished and replaced by eight District Advisory Committees, without executive power [oab]CCCJ 3/4-11[cab]. The number of Education Committee sub-committees was reduced to four - the Schools Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/23[cab]; the Policy and Finance Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/24[cab]; the Buildings Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/22[cab]; and the Further Education Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/8[cab].

Subsequently, the Buildings Sub-Committee was abolished, its responsibilities being transferred to the Policy and Finance Sub-Committee and the Schools Sub-Committee was replaced by a Primary Education Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/26[cab] and a Secondary and Special Education Sub-Committee [oab]CCC1/2/25[cab], which was also responsible for the careers service.