Schools
Children at Crumpsall Workhouse, c.1897, Manchester Archives
Children in the workhouse generally received a better education than very poor children living in the community – certainly before the 1880s, when state-funded schools provided compulsory education for children aged 5 to 10.
Poor Law Unions had to provide at least three hours a day of schooling.
Boys and girls were both taught writing in copybooks and on slates, they read (mainly the Bible) and learned some arithmetic. Boys also worked in the gardens while girls were taught sewing, knitting and housework. There was some time allowed for playing.
The teaching quality probably varied: In 1832 masters in elementary schools were paid £133 a year, while those in workhouses were paid around £65: in Abingdon the schoolmaster/mistress (date not given) was paid around £30. From 1846 Poor Law Unions could claim monetary grants for education from the central authorities.
After 1874 the children were sent out to the National Schools.