Medical Inspection and Treatment for School Children in the Early 20^th Century in England and Wales: Focus on The Charity Organization Society―

Abstract

This paper discusses the health services for school children in early 20^th century England and Wales. Health services for school children provided school meals, medical inspection, and treatment. These services started by way of the 1906 Education Act (School Meals) and the 1907 Education Act (Administrative Provisions). These Acts have been viewed as the origins of liberal welfare reform. Although these acts were initiated by the government, similar health services had previously been provided by charity groups. In this paper, I clarify the relationship between these acts and the Charity Organisation Society (COS), which was one such charity group. They have often been viewed as opponents of state intervention, but this argument is one-sided. This paper's aim is therefore to elucidate how COS reacted to and assessed the aforementioned 1906 Education Act and the 1907 Education Act through the analysis of Charity Organisation Review.