The Education Officer's Department

IDENTITY STATEMENT AREA

Reference code(s): LCC/EO

Title: The Education Officer's Department

Date(s): -

Level of description: Fonds

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CONTEXT AREA

Name of creator(s): London County Council

Administrative/Biographical history: Prior to the 1904, the functions of the LCC in relation to education were confined to the management of two industrial and reformatory schools and its interest in higher education exercised through the Technical Education Board on which its representatives were in a majority. The Education (London) Act 1903 transferred to the LCC the powers and responsibilities of both the school Board for London and the Technical Board of Education. Under the Act the Council was to exercise its powers through an Education Committee and this lasted until 1965 when the functions of the Council in relation to education were taken over by the Inner London Education Authority under the provisions of the London Government Act, 1963. The London County Council was abolished in 1965 and responsibility for education with the former County of London was transferred to the Inner London Education Authority who maintained responsibility until 1990 when the burden of responsibility was shifted to the inner London Borough councils and the Corporation of London

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CONTENT AND STRUCTURE AREA

Scope and content: Records give information on the activities of the Division Officers and listings of the schools (divisions one - nine). Records cover school admissions, discharge registers and logbooks, punishment books, roll of honour and honour books. There is also an index of the names and divisions of all the schools. There are records on the organisational and financial matters including buildings and accommodation (EO/GEN), as well as records on higher and further education (EO/HFE).

There are reports made on schools within the ILEA area by Inspectors from the local Education Authority, reports by School Inspectors on Church Schools and voluntary aided schools. Records of Charitable foundations and trust funds for educational purposes can also be found.

File and item-level records of note in the collection include:

Commonwealth Immigrants Advisory Council - General Papers (Ref: EO/PS/1/128, 1963 - 1964)

Includes information pertaining to 'commonwealth immigrants' and their children in the UK. There is a report by the Home Office entitled, 'Second Report by Commonwealth Immigrants Advisory Council' (1964). The Report (Cmnd.2266)- states that the first report was published was in 1963 and dealt with housing problems facing Black Caribbeans (cmmd.2119). The report provides a history of the recent arrival of people from India, Pakistan, and the West Indies , outlines the history of migration to the UK and the distinction made with the new arrivals based on their colour.

'Immigrant children' in schools, the teaching of English, the role of parents and the schools, and the community are also discussed (p.14).

The statements of evidence to the Commonwealth Immigrants Advisory Council pertain to the role of the Council and the work it was carrying out. Matters include the appointment of staff, the issues of housing, over-crowding, the health service, the language difficulties in schools, and the problems arising from living in a new environment. The papers cover the role of the councils, of the London Youth Committee, the Kensington Institute, and the Welfare Departments in seeking to address some of these issues. Also discussed is the impact of these services on the lives of the newcomers.

Also in the file is a report by the Education Officer, R.W.J. Kemmble entitled, 'The Colour Problem and Youth Work'. The report, stresses the heterogeneity of the West Indian immigrant as well as the white English resident, highlights issues of 'discrimination' and the need to ensure that all youth attend and enjoy the opportunities offered. A recommendation was also made to investigate the 'leisure habits of coloured young people in Britain'. Also suggested was consultation with 'Miss Peppard of the London Council of Social Service who has considerable knowledge of coloured immigrants.'

There is also a report by Janet Marham entitled 'What are the Prospects of Employment for Britain's future coloured school leavers?'. The report discusses discrimination in English society, the work conducted by Leslie Stephens ('Employment of coloured workers in the Birmingham Area' funded by the Institute of Personnel Management, 1956), and the stereotypes of West Indian and Asian workers.

Tulse Hill School - General Papers (Ref: LCC/EO/PS/1/133, 1955 - 1968)

The file contains correspondence, reports, and newspaper clippings about the Tulse Hill School, with mention of the 'mixed intake' of the school. The 1965 Inspection report mentions the 'question of immigrant children' and the fact that a teacher who has a specific responsibility for this matter has been appointed'. The report states that in the past there have been some confusion between the needs of immigrant children with 'linguistic handicaps and those of slow learners requiring remedial treatment'.

Special Schools - statistics (ref: LCC/EO/SS/1/159, 1964)

Records include lists of schools for the partially sighted, deaf, delicate, educationally sub-normal (ESN), maladjusted, blind and handicap. (special note: although no mention is made of 'race' or ethnicity it is a well documented fact that children from the Caribbean, based on their dialect, were at times wrongly sent to ESN schools. It was in response to this that the Black Supplementary School Movement emerged in the early 1970s.

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CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE AREA

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Language/scripts of material: English

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids: 'An outline of Sources for the history of Education in London Metropolitan Archives' which details the LCC archive collection on education, and key printed sources that will help in narrowing down the selection needed.

ALLIED MATERIALS AREA

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DESCRIPTION CONTROL AREA

Recorder's note:

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: June 2000

Interest: Black, Asian

Specific group:

Subjects

Black peoples

Schools

Housing

Education

Employment

Immigration

Personal/Corporate names

Places

London, United Kingdom