The Ministry of Education (1944-1964) was a central government department governed by the Minister of Education, with responsibility in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

for: # Promoting the education of people; # Developing educational institutions; # Developing

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

to provide a comprehensive educational service; # Securing the effective execution of the education policy by local education authorities The Ministry of Education was created by the Education Act 1944. Scottish education was subject to the Education (Scotland) Act 1945 whereby the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...

, under the Secretary of State for Scotland, undertook similar responsibilities to the Ministry of Education but for Scotland. Northern Irish education was subject to the

Education Act (Northern Ireland) 1947 Education Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States that relates to education. The Bill for an Act with this short title wil ...

, passed by the

Northern Ireland parliament The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

at Stormont, which provided powers to the Minister of Education to: * appoint members of the Northern Ireland Advisory Council for Education * appoint additional members of education committees for Northern Ireland local education authorities

History

The Ministry of Education was created by the Education Act 1944 and was preceded by the Board of Education, which had been created by the

Board of Education Act 1899 The Board of Education Act 1899 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning education. The act created the Board of Education to replace the previous Education and Science and Art departments. The Board acted as a central author ...

. The Ministry of Education lasted twenty years until 1964, when it was merged with the Ministry of Science to create the

Department of Education and Science An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. This reorganisation followed the recommendations of the

Robbins Committee The Robbins Report (the report of the Committee on Higher Education, chaired by Lord Robbins) was commissioned by the British government and published in 1963. The committee met from 1961 to 1963. After the report's publication, its conclusions wer ...

on Higher Education.

Ministers

The Minister of Education was in charge of the Ministry of Education and was in effect a

corporation sole A corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ("sole") incorporated office, occupied by a single ("sole") natural person.

. The following

members of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

or members of the

house of lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

have held the office: - Colour key (for political parties):

Parliamentary Secretaries

The Minister of Education could appoint a Parliamentary Secretary who was the junior minister in the Ministry of Education albeit still a political appointment. The following

have held the office: - Colour key (for political parties):

Civil Service

The administration of the Ministry of Education was undertaken by the civil service under the leadership of the Permanent Secretary of Education.

Organisation

The Ministry of Education was organised into branches which were constantly re-organised over the twenty years of the ministry, but the following list is of the branches which have existed at one time or another: -

Central Advisory Councils for Education

The Education Act 1944 set-up two

Central Advisory Councils for Education 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 educatio ...

, one for England and one for Wales. The Minister of Education appointed the members of each council which were mainly made-up of: - * Senior and experienced educators in the public education system (e.g. a senior experienced & highly qualified nursery nurse) * Scholars in the theories of learning who were often university professors The Ministry of Education provided secretaries to the councils and funded their time, The Minister appointed the chairmen of the councils The councils advised the minister on questions raised by the minister or issues identified by the councils The advise was either made public through published reports or kept confidentially within the ministry

References

{{Reflist

External links

A timeline of education in England
Education, Ministry of

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

United Kingdom, Education 1944 establishments in the United Kingdom 1964 disestablishments in the United Kingdom