| Central Advisory Councils for Education (separate councils for England & Wales) | |
| Type: | Statutory Advisory Councils |
| Formed: | 1945 |
| Preceding1: | The Consultative Committee set up under the Board of Education Act 1899. |
| Dissolved: | 1967–1968 |
| Superseding1: | Multitude of non-statutory advisory bodies |
| Jurisdiction: | England & separately Wales |
| Motto: | f |
| Parent Department: | Ministry of Education |
| Keydocument1: | Section (4) of the Education Act (1944) |
| Status: | Defunct |
Section 4 of the Education Act 1944 set-up two Central Advisory Councils for Education, one for England and one for Wales and Monmouthshire. The purpose of the councils was to advise the Minister of Education upon matters connected with educational theory and practice, the advices were used to refine educational policy and develop educational institutes. Starting with a terms of reference, the councils would carryout an enquiry and produce a report which would be submitted to the Minister of Education who could choose to publish the report.
Rab Butler who was responsible for passing the Education Act 1944 (aka the Butler Act), elaborated on the purpose of the councils when the bill was moved for a second reading in parliament:
To "hold aloft the torch of true learning" metaphorically described the outcome from applying current educational theory and best practice to improve education. To achieve such an outcome, evidence & research based advice was needed to influence government thinking, justify policy change, and set priorities so leading to the reallocation of resources used for education. The enquiries by the councils followed by the publication of their findings in reports were simply the first step to achieving the change needed to improve children's lives for the better.
The reports, socialised out the current practices in education, both good and bad. They often legitimised some sensible ideas for educational change which were previously considered radical & progressive by the educational establishment. They had an unequalled ability to obtain a broad consensus for change across both the public and education profession. They established a blueprint for best practice and encouraged its adoption and they set parents expectations for the education of their children. Most importantly of all, they economically demonstrated the relationship between education and growth which helped to justify the significant post-war expansion in public education services. The reports often achieved their aims slowly by influencing government though exerting political pressure and extracting commitments which eventually led to the change needed to improve the lives of children.
The councils were learned, independent and respected. They received and absorbed evidence across a diverse range of opinions and undertook detailed research and surveys to support their findings. The result was the reports often became the definitive documents on a particular education service and were sometimes best sellers in their own rights.
To this purpose and over their 22 year lifespan, the councils investigated some of the most pertinent educational questions of the time with the results of their most important enquiries being published in reports by His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). In addition the Ministry of Education sometimes received advice in the form of reports from the councils but then chose not to publish, these are on public records at the National Archives in Kew.
The Minister of Education appointed the chairman & members for each council and supplied the secretariat from the Ministry of Education. The Education Act obliged the minister to appoint both persons who had experience of the public education system as well as persons who had an experience of educational institutions not forming part of that system, the original aim was to enlist the help of representatives of different aspects of the national life, whether they be industrial, scientific or cultural. This resulted in an eclectic mix of people on the council as evidenced by the membership of the inaugural English council, which was appointed by Rab Butler, the first Minister of Education: -
| Sir Fred Clarke | Chairman | Director of the Institute of Education in the University of London | rowspan="8" | Educationalists & Academics |
| Mr. W. O. Lester Smith | Member | Director of Education, Manchester. | ||
| Sir Charles Darwin, K.B.E., M.C., F.R.S. | Member | Director, National Physical Laboratory | ||
| Sir Henry Clay | Member | Principal, Nuffield College, Oxford | ||
| Professor B. Dobrée, O.B.E. | Member | Professor of English Literature, Leeds University | ||
| Professor R. A. B. Mynors | Member | Professor of Latin, University of Cambridge. | ||
| Professor Willis Jackson | Member | Professor of Electro-Technics, University of Manchester. | ||
| Professor J. A. Scott-Watson, C.B.E. | Member | Chief Education and Advisory Officer, Ministry of Agriculture. | ||
| Miss M. F. Adams | Member | Headmistress Croydon High School for Girls | PractitionersInside the Public Education System | |
| Mr. J. F. Wolfenden, C.B.E. | Member | Headmaster, Shrewsbury School. | ||
| Mr. Ronald Gould | Member | Headmaster, Welton School, Somerset | ||
| Miss E. Dodds | Member | Warden, Bishop Creighton House, Fulham | ||
| Lady Allen of Hurtwood | Member | Chairman of the Nursery School Association of Great Britain | ||
| Dr. C. F. Brockington | Member | School Medical Officer, Warwickshire County Council. | ||
| The Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Bristol | Member | Secretary, Council of Church Training Colleges, and Christian Education Movement. | rowspan="5" | Educators Outside the Public Education System |
| Rev. Dr. A. W. Harrison | Member | Secretary, Methodist Education Committee. | ||
| Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable N.A.S. Lytton-Milbanke | Member | National Catholic Youth Association. | ||
| Sir Phillip Morris, C.B.E. | Member | Director-General of Army Education. | ||
| The Honourable Mrs. Youard. | Member | Rural Education. | ||
| Mr. Harold Clay | Member | Transport and General Workers' Union | rowspan="3" | Employers& Unions |
| Sir Claude Gibb, F.R.S. | Member | General manager and Director of C. A. Parsons & Co. Ltd. | ||
| The Honourable Josiah Wedgwood | Member | Managing Director, Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd. | ||
| Miss M. S. Smylie | Secretary | Ministry of Education, H.M. Inspector | Secretariat | |
| Miss J. M. Crafter | Assistant | Secretary | ||
| Miss M. E. Forsyth | Clerk | Clerk |
The constitution of the councils only changed organically over the first decade as originally the tenure of membership was set on a rotating basis allowing for some change to the council composition whilst still ensuring continuity, this organic change included the fact some councillors resigned of their own volition or passed away and those vacancies were filled, during this historical phase there was only one change in chairman as Sir Fred Clark was replaced by Samuel Gurney-Dixon.
This way of operating changed in 1956 when Sir David Eccles started to re-constitute the main English councils for each new enquiry, subsequently it was reconstituted 3 times by the Education Minister of the time: -
The councils were public bodies within the government of the United Kingdom, for context : -
The two advisory councils fitted into this organisation as follows: -
This model resulted in the councils being partially autonomous rather than completely sub-ordinate to the Minister of Education.
Each of the enquiries undertaken by the councils were under a terms of reference (aka remit) which defined the scope & bounds of each enquiry. The councils either enquired on the questions raised by the minister or on questions independently identified by the councils themselves.
| School and Life | 1944 | Sir Fred Clarke | Rab Butler | Council with the agreement of the minister | "The subject to which the Council proposes to address itself first is the transition from life at school to independent life. It will examine the content and methods of education in those schools from which the actual transition is made, and proceed to the influence of earlier education from the nursery school onwards, and at the other end of the scale to the special problems of part-time education. The general purpose of the enquiry will be an appreciation and criticism of existing education as a preparation for a useful and satisfying life." | |
| Out of School | 1947 | Sir Fred Clarke | George Tomlinson | Minister of Education | "To consider and report on the natural interests and pursuits of school children out of school hours; the provision made for these outside their homes; the value of such provision and the desirability of further or different provision; and the extent to which school work and activities can and should be related to and develop these interests." | |
| Early leaving | 1952 | Sir Samuel Gurney-Dixon | Florence Horsbrugh | Minister of Education | 'To consider what factors influence the age at which boys and girls leave secondary schools which provide courses beyond the minimum school-leaving age; to what extent it is desirable to increase the proportion of those who remain at school, in particular the proportion of those who remain at school roughly to the age of 18; and what steps should be taken to secure such an increase.' | |
| 15 to 18 | 1956 | Sir Geoffrey Crowther | Sir David Eccles | Minister of Education | "To consider, in relation to the changing social and industrial needs of our society, and the needs of its individual citizens, the education of boys and girls between 15 and 18, and in particular to consider the balance at various levels of general and specialised studies between these ages and to examine the inter-relationship of the various stages of education". This was extended by the education minister (Lord Hailsham) on 1 July 1957 through issuance of circular 326: - "to consider whether any, and if so, what arrangements should be made for the examination of those secondary school pupils for whom the General Certificate of Education was recognised to be inappropriate" | |
| Half Our Future | 1961 | Lord Amory | Lord Eccles | Minister of Education | Original: - 'To consider the education between the ages of 13 and 16 of pupils of average or less than average ability who are or will be following full-time courses either at schools or in establishments of further education. The term education shall be understood to include extra-curricular activities.' | |
| Children and their Primary Schools | 1963 | Lady Plowden JP | Sir Edward Boyle | Minister of Education | 'To consider primary education in all its aspects and the transition to secondary education' |
The unique difference between the councils and the commission which proceeded it or the committees which followed was the ability to set its own terms of reference, independently of the minister of education.
The following are the six reports published by the English council: -
| 1947 | School and Life | One Part | 96 | ||
| 1948 | Out of School | One Part | 519 | Sir Fred Clarke | George Tomlinson |
| 1954 | Early leaving | One Part | 99 | Sir Samuel Gurney-Dixon | Florence Horsbrugh |
| 1959 | 15 to 18 | Volume I - The Report | 519 | Sir Geoffrey Crowther | Geoffrey Lloyd |
| 1960 | Volume II - The Surveys | 240 | |||
| 1963 | Half Our Future | One Part | 298 | John Newsom CBE | Edward Boyle |
| 1967 | Children and their Primary Schools | Volume I - The Report | 555 | Lady Plowden JP | Anthony Crosland |
| 1967 | Volume II - The Research & Surveys | 633 |
The following are the ten reports published by the Welsh council: -
| 1949 | English & Welsh | The Future of Secondary Education in Wales | 160 | Professor Richard Aaron |
| 1951 | English & Welsh | The county college in Wales: Y coleg sir yng Nghymru!. | 126 | Professor Richard Aaron |
| 1953 | English | Arts in Education; Music in the Schools of Wales | 53 | (not named in bibliography) |
| 1953 | English | The Place of Welsh and English in the Schools of Wales | 110 | (not named in bibliography) |
| 1954 | English & Welsh | The Arts in Education; Drama in the Schools of Wales | 53 | A.B. Oldfield-Davies |
| 1956 | English & Welsh | Arts in Education; Art and Crafts in the Schools of Wales | 88 | A.B. Oldfield-Davies |
| 1960 | English & Welsh | Education in Rural Wales | 168 | A.B. Oldfield-Davies |
| 1961 | English & Welsh | Technical Education in Wales | 146 | A.B. Oldfield-Davies |
| 1965 | English & Welsh | Science in Education in Wales Today | 169 | Llewellyn-Jones, F. |
| 1967 | English | Primary Education in Wales | 646 | Charles Gittins |
| Welsh | Addysg Gynradd Cymru | 668 | Charles Gittins |
The English council additionally completed five enquiries where the Minister of Education chose not to publish the reports, also one enquiry completed but with just a memoranda and one enquiry was not completed: -
The Welsh council was smaller than its larger English counter-part and dealt with less significant enquiries but all ten of its enquiries resulted in reports which were all published.
After the issuance of the Plowden report, the final meeting of the central advisory council for education (England) was held on 16 October 1966, with the tenure of all the members allowed to expire on 30 November 1966. Similarly, after the issuance of the Gittins report, the equivalent council for Wales met in March 1967 and the tenure of their members was also allowed to expire shortly afterwards. Neither council was ever re-constituted again but the statute under which they were instituted [section (4) of the Education Act 1944] remained in law until finally repealed on 1 November 1996.
The educational advisory function was instead carried out by a multitude of non-statutory advisory bodies who were indirectly constituted at the behest of Ministers rather than being constituted directly under an act of parliament as were the two councils. In 1971, the Secretary of State for Education & Science (Margaret Thatcher) explained the change to the 'advisory machinery' and named many of the bodies who had replaced the work done by the two statutory advisory councils: -
Permanent (standing) advisory councils with thematic remits: -
Ad-hoc (expert) committees with single issue remits: -
The reasons the statutory councils were dissolved and replaced by non-statutory advisory bodies were manifold. Some education ministers such as Anthony Crosland, did not want an independent body contemplating the long-term vision needed for education instead the ministry of education under political control should carryout this fundamental activity and so the internal advisory capability of the ministry was improved. By their nature, the reports were often publicly critical of the status quo which was often construed as criticism of the education minister which was not appreciated. Ministers no longer considered it necessary for the councils to come-up with their own terms of reference and they were not keen on funding such work. The councils were subject to statutory reporting which led to more parliamentary scrutiny than with non-statutory advisory bodies.
Legislation
Reports (England)
Reports (Wales)
Hansard
UK government sources
National archives
Academics