Schools : eighth report from the Select Committee on Estimates together with the Minutes of Evidence taken before Sub-Committee E and Appendices, Session 1952-1953.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Estimates
Date:
1953
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Schools : eighth report from the Select Committee on Estimates together with the Minutes of Evidence taken before Sub-Committee E and Appendices, Session 1952-1953. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Britton.) 1 have not known that system in operation, but I would say this: from the point of view of the smaller children, the younger children, I have come across a number of teachers who, since they have seen the separate cloakrooms off corridors, have welcomed them, but I am quite certain that it would not be welcomed by teachers of children who were rather older. Infant teachers have at least welcomed the fact that you have got the coats under the teacher’s direct supervision, but | am sure they would not welcome lavatories equally close. One of the major problems in all infant schools undoubtedly is the problem of lavatories; there is not a scrap of doubt about that; the terrific journey very small children have to take, often in bad weather, to the lava- tories is, I think, probably the main reason why some children do not like going to school; and I do not think that is an eXaggeration in any way. At the same time the organisation of a school has altered very materially because of school dinners. The problem that Mr. Hickman outlined with regard to the children not always being in the classroom and wanting to go to the lavatory from other places than the classroom would apply very largely in infant schools if the lavatories were, as it were, centred on the classroom rather than in the building in a definite place to which there was access from all parts of the building. Mr. James Johnson. 539. We have had this question of what we think of false economies, circulation space and the like. Are there any other points in this connection where we have been spending money over the last two years or so on things which you think are harmful to the teacher as an education technician, or not so much harmful as a handicap to his maximum teaching effici- ency?—(Mr. Griffith.) I think there was a reduction to £140 per place in 1951. That was a reduction of about 124 per cent. While I think we have got to say the Minis- try do something by trying to co-ordinate the efforts of architects and issuing Building Bulletins and things of that kind, certain local authorities, especially small ones— because you must remember to a small local authority the building of a school is an event, and that experience may not be wanted again for a long time—I think the Ministry in doing that kind of thing and advising L.E.A.’s did something worth while. But I would say it is a little bit early. The school is built: everybody is pleased with it; but we have been given schools, and we know schools are expected to last about three-quarters of a century, or even a century. We have got to ask what this will be like in three, four, five, siX or seven years’ time, because a school is not only used as a school; it is used continuously nearly every night up to 8, 9 and 10 o’clock; and we do not know what the wear and tear on this will be like. I believe myself that the repair bills and the maintenance bills of these new schools will be very much higher than the others, because they have saved on the doors and that kind of thing. I think we are going to have very big repair bills on them. Chairman. 540. Could you give us anything more specific? Mr. Britton did mention the fear about maintenance. Have you any actual evidence?—(Mr. Britton.) The difficulty is that there has not been time for the evidence to accumulate. Brigadier Peto.] I think also the difficulty is that the types of schools that are now being put up are not uniform. You have not got uniform material. We saw one, for example, using prefabricated blocks about 3 inches thick and a couple of yards wide which require no upkeep, so the architect told us. Chairman. 541. Mr. Britton mentioned at the outset that they feared there would have to be an addition of this and of that, but he did not mention what he was meaning?—I think one’s’ attitude is affected by what has happened over the HORSA huts. The HORSA huts were put up in large numbers some five or six years ago. I believe when teachers first moved into them, having been used to the rather restric- ted condition that many had known in old and out of date buildings, they thought these HORSA huts were pretty good. But steadily one is getting less satisfied with them. There is invariably something that wants repairing. The repair bill quite factually is high on these, and I think that any local authority would substantiate that fact. As a teacher, you feel that the place never looks, no matter how much effort you put into it, a graceful place, which is Important in the lives of children, I believe. 542. They were specially for the raising of the school leaving age?—-Yes. What we do feel is this. We have also got this in very many cases: temporary buildings that were put up immediately alter the first’ war ‘are there still being used in overcrowded circumstances. These HORSA’s were put up for ten years, and it is already becoming quite obvious they are not going to be anything like a temporary expedient. 543. On the whole, may we take it that whilst you would recognise the necessity for prefabricated buildings in present cir- cumstances Yh CES 544. —because of the question of time and because of the shortage of labour and materials, on the whole would we take it it is your view that all things being equal