| AdminHistory | Summer Hill Receiving Homes
In the early 1900s, the Birmingham Board of Guardians came to the conclusion that a new Receiving Home for children was necessary, for several reasons: to relieve pressure on the Guardians’ existing cottage homes, which were becoming overcrowded; to provide accommodation for children who required it for a short period of time (and were, because of this, viewed as an unsettling influence on long-stay homes); and to provide initial accommodation for those children who would be moved on to the long-stay homes. Accordingly, in 1905 a house in Summer Hill Terrace was purchased, and was opened as Summer Hill Receiving Homes in 1910.
From 1913, regulations were in place preventing children over three years old from remaining in the workhouse for more than six weeks, and the Receiving Home was intended to ensure that this was adhered to – it not only acted as a short-stay home, but was used as a ‘distribution centre’ for children who were to be admitted to the long-stay homes.
On the outbreak of war in 1939, the children resident at Summer Hill were evacuated, and the Public Assistance Committee took over the buildings to house elderly men, for which purpose they were found to be ideal. Summer Hill Receiving Homes for children did not reopen after the war, and the buildings were retained as a home for the elderly.
Administration
Summer Hill Receiving Homes was initially administered by the Birmingham Board of Guardians (see GP/B/2/6/5). The Local Government Act 1929 abolished the Boards of Guardians and gave responsibility for poor relief to local authorities, and the Receiving Homes came under the jurisdiction of the Public Assistance Committee (in contrast to the Cottage Homes, which were administered by the Education Committee) (see BCC 1/CD/6). On 1 April 1935 the administration of the Receiving Homes passed to the Education Committee (see BCC 1/BH/5/5).
When the Homes closed in 1939, administration passed back to the Public Assistance Committee in order for the buildings to be used as accommodation for the elderly.
Summer Hill Receiving Homes School
Initially, children in the Receiving Homes attended local schools. However, by 1919 it was often proving difficult to find sufficient places in the local schools, and some children were refused admission. In March 1920 the Schools Inspector suggested that the best way to tackle the problem was to provide the Homes with their own school; this suggestion was taken up, and the school opened in January 1921. By March 1921 there were more than 60 children attending the school. (See GP/B/2/6/5/3.)
The school closed in 1939, when the Receiving Homes were evacuated, and it did not reopen after the war. |