Records of the Education divisions

Records of the education divisions of the Welsh Office relating to Welsh educational matters.

Registered inspectorate files are in BD 60, registered files of inspectorate panels and committees in BD 74 and unregistered inspectorate papers in BD 50

Registered files of the Welsh Education Office are in BD 91 and BD 124, and of the Education Services Division of the Welsh Education Office in BD 84

Also comprises reports by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools, Wales:

• Youth welfare, BD 13;
• Teacher training colleges, BD 14;
• Institutes of further education, BD 15;
• Secondary institutions, BD 16;
• Primary institutions, BD 17;
• Collected special reports, BD 19;
• Special schools, BD 71;
• Independent schools, BD 72.

Education Department, Schools Division, registered files (PSE series), BD 126

For pre 1970 reports of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools in Wales see Records created or inherited by the Department of Education and Science,

• Department of Education and Science, Her Majestys Inspectorate of Schools, 1964-1970
• Welsh Office, Education Department, 1978-1999
• Welsh Office, Her Majestys Inspectorate of Schools, 1970-1992
• Welsh Office, Welsh Education Office, 1970-1978

Topics

Welfare

Education

Welsh Education Office (1970-1978) and Welsh Education Department (1978-)

Responsibility for primary and secondary education passed to the Welsh Office in 1970, and for most further and higher education functions in 1978. Responsibility for universities was transferred in 1992. Teachers' pay, pensions and qualifications remain with the Department for Education and Employment.

There has always been close collaboration between the Welsh Office and the Department of Education and Science and its successors, and policy is developed on a basis that is common to both England and Wales.

In addition to education matters, the Education Department has had responsibilities for the Welsh language, funding for the National Library of Wales, arts and broadcasting.

The Education Department in 1978 had five divisions, schools, two further education divisions, education services, and Her Majesty's Inspectorate. The two further education divisions were later merged.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools, Wales

A separate Inspectorate for Wales was established in 1907 and until 1970 was answerable to the Welsh office of the Board of Education and its successors. In 1970, responsibility passed to the Welsh Office and the Inspectorate was part of the Welsh Education Office and the Education Department of the Welsh Office. In 1992, an independent Office of the Chief Inspector for Wales was established.

The responsibilities of the original inspectorate were to pay regular visits to all educational establishments in Wales, to produce formal reports from time to time and to advise the Secretary of State of Wales as required.