Transcript
Shaping our past: school inspectors in Victoria
[Dr Max Stephens] They were visible in schools. Mostly male, wore a suit, if it was a man.
[Frank Peck] There were certain things you had to do.
[Ron Ritchie] I must say that I enjoyed the work that I did.
[Narrator] For 132 years, school inspectors played an invaluable role in Victoria's education sector, bridging the gap between the classroom and the education department.
[Dr Don Reeves] The children all knew the inspector was coming.
[Dr A. Warren Garrett] They were certain that the inspector was coming to inspect them: "My God, you're the inspector."
[Don Reeves] The notion of the inspectors went in to sack teachers is totally erroneous. We were there to grow our teachers.
[Narrator] In celebrating 150 years of state education in Victoria, we look back on school inspectors' historic contributions.
[Dr Max Stephens] I was a member of the Board of Inspectors of Secondary Schools from 1974 to 1982.
[Frank Peck] I was appointed an inspector in 1978, through to 1982.
[Ron Ritchie] 1960 I was appointed an inspector of schools.
[Dr Don Reeves] I was the inspector from 1977 until '82.
[Dr A. Warren Garrett] I first started as a District Inspector of Primary Schools from 1972 to 1977.
[Dr Max Stephens] It's a 19th century model of inspecting, ensuring that standards are met.
[Dr A. Warren Garrett] There were two roles: you could assess the teacher, at their request, or you could assess the school.
[Dr Max Stephens] They operated within the education department for government schools. But they also had authority under the Council for Public Education, to register non-government schools.
[Narrator] The introduction of school inspectors dates back almost as far as the establishment of Victoria's first school. When school attendance was made compulsory with the Education Act of 1872, inspectors also assisted in the creation of new schools.
[Dr Max Stephens] The English model would've been very important, of what were called H.M.I.s: Her Majesty's Inspectors.
[Dr A. Warren Garrett] The early years duplicated the old country, so to speak. It was only after the 1872 Act, which established the state system, that inspectors were eventually instituted.
[Dr Max Stephens] Primary schools were the staple of the Victorian Education Department for the first 40 years, nearly. And relatively few high schools.
[Narrator] Primary school inspectors, known as District Inspectors, oversaw an entire district. Those working in regional areas often became valued members of their community.
[Dr A. Warren Garrett] The country inspector had a role that was quite different from a city inspector or a post primary inspector. You were part of the community. You met the teachers every day down the street.
[Dr Don Reeves] And that's where you really came to understand, the inspector very much was a colleague.
[Narrator] High schools and technical schools opened in the early 20th century, presenting new educational horizons.
[Dr Max Stephens] The big growth was in the post-war years, where they were building a school a week.
[Frank Peck] By the time I became an inspector there were nearly 300 high schools. Growing from probably maybe 25 in the early '50s.
[Dr Max Stephens] Like primary inspectors, almost all of the secondary inspectors had a group of schools in the metropolitan area, and in the country, that they were liaison people for.
[Frank Peck] I was a contact inspector for, I think, 20 schools. Eight I had in the city, and I had 12 in the country.
[Dr Max Stephens] We'd be involved in staffing, administrative transfers for teachers, teacher welfare, representing the school on regional buildings committees and so on.
[Dr A. Warren Garrett] In my inspectorate, you would let the school know that you were coming. You would sit with the principal, and you would talk about which teachers wanted assessment or had requested assessment. Talk to the children, talk to the teacher, assess the level of standing of the children in a particular subject.
[Narrator] Secondary school inspectors were often former or head teachers or connected with the education department.
[Dr Max Stephens] I became an inspector after being a senior teacher in a school.
[Frank Peck] I came from being principal of Murrayville High School. Within six months I was doing assessments.
[Narrator] Technical inspectors were another category all together, with specialised industry knowledge. These inspectors were key in developing courses for technical colleges, that would go on to become tertiary education institutions like RMIT and Swinburne universities.
[Ron Ritchie] We had about 110 technical schools and colleges which we were responsible for. Every second week we'd go to one of the country techs. Every other one we'd do a tech in the city. We would also have a liaison with outside bodies, for example, the big manufacturing organisations – the Board of Works, SEC – to make sure that the center's training melded in with the practical side that was done in the firms themselves.
[Dr Max Stephens] You could be involved with a school at some critical point and provide, with the principal and others, some timely solutions.
[Frank Peck] Well, a couple of schools that I became involved in were in real difficulty. Between teachers, school councils and that, they finally got back on deck.
[Narrator] By the early 1980s, government changes, department decentralisation, increasing teacher union pressure and changing attitudes around school leadership, all pointed towards the end of an era. After 132 years, it was announced that the inspectorate would be abolished from the 31st of December 1982.
[Frank Peck] There was just a general questioning: do you need an outside person to decide or don't you? And that came through, of course, in 1982.
[Ron Ritchie] I enjoyed the fact that we wanted to work together to really give a first-class education system.
[Dr Don Reeves] If there hadn't been inspectors, the bush teacher would've been totally isolated.
[Frank Peck] I enjoyed the contact inspector role immensely because they were about improving a school.
[Dr A. Warren Garrett] You were there to improve the school, to make sure it had resources and to help if need be.
[Dr Don Reeves] It had great strength in diversity. And I think that was the importance of a state education system.
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