From the mid-19th century the Home Office and the Treasury became involved in the inspection and funding of reformatory and industrial schools. Children identified as vagrant, neglected, disorderly, in danger of corruption, or in the case of reformatory schools, already convicted of an offence, were taken out of their home environments and detained in institutions in which they would receive the sort of discipline and moral instruction it was feared they did not receive at home. This talk will explore sources at The National Archives which help the researcher study individual schools and pupils, build up a picture of the reformatory and industrial school experience, and understand how the system evolved during this period. Briony Paxman has worked at The National Archives for five years. She is part of the Modern Domestic Records Team and has a particular interest in records related to education, crime and juvenile delinquency.
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