ABSTRACT
In 1885 the Local Government Auditor intervened to prevent the school-keeper at the Beethoven Street School in Paddington from teaching woodwork to senior pupils in the school. A number of specific new pieces of legislation, together with a series of developments which have occurred within the existing legislative framework, have enabled central government to take the initiative and substantially weaken the position of the local education authorities (LEAs). For over a quarter of a century after the 1944 Act no government chose to express any substantial view on the school curriculum. The London School Board which had been endeavouring to extend the school curriculum beyond the limited range of activities on which grant was paid had to seek alternative sources of funds in order to keep this initiative going. Falling school rolls, the recession and unemployment have provided a rationale for central action.
