| Description | King's Norton Union's School Attendance Committee was appointed in April 1877, at the Guardians' annual meeting (see GP KN/2/1/17). Consisting of nine members, at first a committee covering only the parish of Northfield was formed. The reason for this is unclear, but by August 1880 the committee's jurisdiction had spread to cover the whole Union. The Board of Guardian's minutes for April 1877 inform us that two enquiry officers - one for the north and the other for the south relief district of the Union - were to be appointed, (see GP KN/2/1/17) but again their function is unclear, and they are not referred to within the School Attendance Committee's minutes for the same period. In May, a school attendance officer was appointed (see GP KN/2/1/17 and GP KN/32/1/1). It was his job to monitor school attendance within the union, to serve notices on those parents who refused to send their children to school, and to visit the schools themselves. His findings were then reported back to the Committee, and these reports form a part of the minutes.
The minutes further contain information on school attendance within the Union and also on the steps taken to ensure that parents sent their children to school. Individual cases are referred to, and their level of detail increases in the later volumes. Information on enquiries made by the school attendance officer, into such subjects as school provision within the Union, are included, and there is also some correspondence between the Committee and the Local Government Board. The volumes are not indexed. |