Ministry of Education: Schools Branch: Precedent Folders

ED 190

1944-1966

Precedent folders of the Ministry of Education Schools Branch containing extracts and copies of correspondence, with associated notes, relating to the implementation of the Education Act 1944, its subsequent amending acts, and various regulations introduced under this legislation.

The folders were compiled between 1944 and the mid-1960s, and continued in use until the passing of the Education Reform Act 1988.

The majority of these precedent folders contain papers arranged according to the relevant section of the 1944 Act, or to the other legislation or regulations to which they refer. There are also a number of folders containing memoranda on specific subjects, arranged alphabetically: these constitute ED 190/6-10.

Public Record(s)

English

• Department of Education and Science, Schools Branch, 1964-1973
• Ministry of Education, Schools Branch, 1944-1964

13 file(s)

Subject to 30 year closure

The nature and scope of the changes brought about by the 1944 Act were such that, in the years following the date of its implementation (1 April 1945), there arose many questions of interpretation and practice which were not adequately covered by the available guidance.

A record was therefore kept within Schools Branch of these matters of doubt or difficulty and the decisions taken on them (either by that branch or, perhaps, by Legal Branch), in order that such cases could be referred to again if and when similar questions were raised at a later date. A body of information was thus collected to serve as 'precedents' for the future. It is believed that, to qualify as a true 'precedent', the subject case had to be referred up to at least Assistant Secretary level.