Daily Knowledge by appYeah

Illustration of an infant class

The history of infant schools in Great Britain began in 1816, when the first infant school was founded in New Lanark, Scotland. It was followed by other philanthropic infant schools across Great Britain. Infant teaching came to include moral education, exercise, and an authoritative but friendly teacher. Infant schools increased the education that many children received before leaving school to work. State-funded schools in England and Wales were advised in 1840 to include infant departments. Infant education came under pressure to achieve quick academic progress, notably through rote learning. Beginning in 1905, infant lessons in England and Wales shifted towards more child-centred methods of teaching, where education was meant to reflect the preferences of children. The child-centred approach reached its peak following a report in 1967. In 1988, a more centralised curriculum was introduced. The term "infant department" was used widely in Scotland in the 1960s but is no longer much used there. (Full article...)