Childhood Studies Self-Changing Childhood
Student Number: 13043419
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Childhood Studies and Guidance and Counselling
PP0618
Childhood Studies - Changing Childhood (Part B)
(3093 words)
The Industrial Revolution that started in the early 1800s saw great change in the common person’s work life. Economies largely dependent on the primary agriculture industries started to diversify into the secondary manufacturing industries as people moved away from farming for a living to working in factories for regular wages. It was a period of rapid growth for firms in the production sector and job opportunities were ample as factories boomed. These jobs were largely labour intensive and did not require specific sets of skills. Hence, uneducated and …show more content…
untrained people with no prior work experience were readily recruited for work and this included very young children from a background of poverty. Many companies grew quickly as the owners of businesses and factories pushed their work force to improve their yields. Working conditions were neglected in the already accident-prone factories adding to hazards (Ncm.org.uk, 2014). This was more so in the lucrative coal mining industry. In 1815, in one unnamed coal mine 58 deaths out of a total 349 deaths in one year, involved children thirteen years or younger. (Historylearningsite.co.uk, 2014). Today, the Unicef.org (2013) defines childhood as “the time for children to be in school and at play, to grow strong and confident with the love and encouragement of their family and an extended community of caring adults”. It is a sensitive period in which vulnerable children should stay free of fear and be safe guarded. It is of utmost importance to protect them against any type of violation, be it physical abuse or exploitation in any of its forms. Childhood is much more than just the period between birth and the attainment of adulthood, for it moulds one’s entire life. The quality of those childhood years as recorded in archived material becomes key to understanding childhood in the past while serving as a comparison to childhood today.
“Instructions From the Central Board of the Children’s Employment Commission to the Sub-Commissioners” (Mitchell, 1998), gives an insight into the issue of child labour and the exploitation of children forced into cheap labour and dangerous jobs. The objective of the article was to persuade high authorities to approve the reviewing of the Factory Act. There were two main factors that were under review, the employment of young persons and the specifics of their job descriptions. The article was written by a particular member of council to other members of council and was written formally and legally, instructing members of the council to gather information on children employed in mines and collieries. The writer also specifically mentioned to take into account the age and number of children employed, the number of working hours, if meals were provided for, the quality of the meals, the nature of the work place and the treatment of the children.
After the initial 1833 Factory Act was implemented, a new act in 1870 (The Forster Act) was put in place.
The Forster Act attempted to provide elementary education for all children aged 5-13. Prior to this, the state had not taken accountability over the need for basic education. The Act resulted in the first local school boards that could compel attendance. However, many of these local authority-run schools did not make use of the given entitlement. The need for greater action was observed and the act was then improvised in 1879 (Sandon’s Act). It highlighted compulsory elementary education for all children and placed the responsibility on parents to make sure that their children were present at school. The Sandon’s Act also created committees in schools to monitor and enforce attendance. In 1880, the Education Act was then added on with school attendance for children aged between 5 and 10 made compulsory. The Education Act also covered children up to the age of 14 unless an exemption certificate was permitted. An exemption could be obtained if the child had met a required number of attendances (250 attendances per year for 10 -12 year olds and 150 per year for those over 12) or if the child had obtained a ‘labour certificate’, verifying that he/she had attained the educational standard required by local by-laws and/or had a paid job to go to (U.K Education Acts since 1800, 2010). New schools were built and school attendance increased even with resistance to the call for …show more content…
universal education. In 1816, 875,000 of the country 's 1.5m children “attended a school of some kind for some period” (Williams, 1961). By 1835, the figure was 1.45m out of 1.75m. If this seems relatively remarkable, it should be taken note of that by 1835 the average period of school attendance was just one year (Gillard, D., 2007). By 1851 the average period of school attendance had increased to two years, and in 1861 an estimated 2.5m children out of 2.75m obtained some form of schooling, “though still of very mixed quality and with the majority leaving before they were eleven” (Williams, 1961). Fast-forwarding to 1891, some 30years later, elementary education was made free.
The UN General Assembly launched a convention for children’s rights for signature on 20 November 1989; the 30th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (Ngos.net, 2013). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international statement of the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. The Convention stated that each child had the right to be educated (including the completion of primary school). The UK government endorsed it on 19 April 1990 and verified it on 16 December 1991. It came into force in the UK on 15 January 1992. Primary education was first made free for all children. Each child’s right to education was enforced. Education that would shape their personality, discover hidden talents and stretch their abilities to the fullest potential. Regretfully, 61 million children are still being deprived of their right to go to school today (Unicef.org.uk, 2014). Free primary school education is not yet a reality for every child, and fees are a foremost hindrance to school attendance. Poverty and the lack of proper schooling facilities are just two common causes as to why children are deprived of their right to education. In 2005, UNICEF and the World Bank commenced an initiative to aid governments abolish school fees in countries such as Mozambique, Uganda, Togo and Kenya (Unicef.org.uk, 2014). UNICEF funded £1.5 million to provide education materials, train teachers, and revamp school facilities in order to help Kenya deal with the resulting surge in number of pupils.
Educators such as Friedrich Froebel and Maria Montessori firmly have confidence in the importance of play. Froebel constructed the first kindergarten and play was an extremely important course to learning. Montessori formed a curriculum that integrated natural play activities, allowing children to choose for themselves how they prefer to play and learn. Both techniques of instruction by Froebel and Montessori were built on observations of children at play. The curriculum was then formed based on the study of these observations of children’s behavioural patterns, interests and inquisitive nature. (Teachplaybasedlearning.com, 2014). John Dewey also had firm viewpoints about play; that the interests and needs of children should be given importance. His beliefs have become fundamental to many current opinions of play. In 1945, the Reggio Emilia Philosophy was founded in Reggio Emilia, Italy, by Loris Malaguzzi. Today, there are a number of both preschools and grade schools that closely follow the outline of her philosophy. It is an approach that does not certainly emphasise on academic learning, as much as it does on the individual ideas and metacognition of each child, through play, social interactions and opportunities presented. Each child’s ethnocentric approach to each condition is positively considered commemorated in the classroom. The outline even sets aside time for group discussions, thus providing an opportunity to observe individuality; “among the benefits were the different ways of thinking, provoking and asking questions” (Fawcett & Hay, 2004).
According to the article 31 of a summary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (FACT SHEET: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2014), “every child has the right to relax, play and join in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities”. Play is not only solely fun time for children, but also a way of learning. Through play, children build an understanding of their animate and inanimate surroundings and pick up skills to resolve simple difficulties, thus developing basic relationships such as friendships. They boost their creativity and acquire leadership abilities and healthy personalities (Extension, 2014). Play develops the aptitudes children require to learn, read and write. This concept of play is still appreciated in early childhood education in present day (Saracho & Spodeck, 1995).
Attached to the letter by the central board of the Children’s Employment Commission were instructions on the principal subjects that required careful investigations. Meals were one of the subjects to be covered, whether the children were given proper meals in terms of the portions, nutritional values and time. Members of the councils were designated to investigate if during meal-time, any children were forced to keep on working, cleaning the machineries or “make up the regular meal-times taken by the adults”. This suggested that the council were concerned of the children’s basic needs and general well being. Children if not fed proper balanced diets can easily suffer from malnutrition, which has severe consequences on physical and mental development. Therefore, both the UNCRC and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights define children 's right to food. There are a number of organisations in the world that protects a child 's right to food. Such as article 44 of the Columbia organisation (Childlineindia.org.in, 2014) conveys "Children have fundamental rights to: life, integrity, health and social security, adequate food".
Children under the age of five are most at risk to malnutrition. The World Health Organization (WHO) associates malnutrition to at least half of the about ten million child deaths that take place every year (Hrea.org, 2014). Young children are more vulnerable to illness resulting from malnutrition and they also go through permanent physical and mental damage that sometimes remains with them throughout their lifetimes. Hence, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) delivers the need for sufficient food, and clean drinking water. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) predicts that there are almost 800 million malnourished people globally.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child safeguards the child’s right to food in the context of the right to life, survival and development, to health, to nutrition and to an adequately acceptable standard of living (Hrea.org, 2014). Unable to ensure children’s right to food has its social consequences. Children trying to escape poverty and hunger often run into situations that end up placing them in more risk. For example, getting conned into child labour, including its most severe forms, such as child slavery, child prostitution or even recruitment as child soldiers. Hunger has also led children to leave school as they have to work in order to get hold of food. Without food, children would not even have the physical and mental strength to attend school. In 2008, it is reported in Unicef.org.uk (2014) that nearly 9 million children died before their fifth birthday from avoidable causes. An estimated 4,000 children die every day from diarrhoea due to poor sanitation and dirty water. Others die for the reason that they do not have sufficient food to eat. Sickness and malnutrition carry on to stunt the development and limit the growth of millions.
In 2005, an organisation, the School Food Trust, which was renamed Children’s Food Trust, was formed in United Kingdom.
This organisation advocates on children eating healthier diets (Childrensfoodtrust.org.uk, 2014). They provide specialist advice, training and support to anyone who provides food for children. In 2013, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has announced £1 billion for the Department of Education to fund the free school meals commitment (Gov.uk, 2013). The government would be providing revenue funding of £450 million in 2014 to 2015 and £635 million in 2015 to 2016 to the Department for Education (DfE) to fund this commitment. This is new money into the DfE budget. It will also make £150 million of capital accessible for the upgrading of kitchens and dining capacity. £70 million of this will be new money from the Treasury (HMT) and around £80 million will be from leftover DfE maintenance
funds.
In the archive quoted previously, it was stated that young persons of aged thirteen to eighteen were to be covered by the new Factory Act. This suggested that children of aged below thirteen were not covered by the law and thus, they not protected and not given any rights. These left children below thirteen prone to exploitation, as supported by Intriguing History (2013), children as young as six, regularly worked more than twelve hours a day regardless of attempts made by parliament in 1819 to improve working conditions for these children. In reality, little had been achieved. It was a period of factory reformation and boom and factory owners believed that the only technique to increase output and productivity was to get the workers to work longer hours for the same, or less, wages. (Historyhome.co.uk, 2013).
The archive also suggested that the Act had already been put in place earlier on by the central board but was not supervised, resulting in loop-holes. This gave the public an impression that the members of the council had formed the new Factory Act to merely show that they were playing their fair part in handling the exploitation of child labour and pursuing proper elementary education for children. Though the letter was given out to emphasize on the Act, the findings by the members of council were not enough to reflect the actual plight of children as factory owners would often be notified earlier on the investigations that required to be carried out. Factory owners would have masked the situation in order to save their factories and gain credits.
In 1821, about 49% of the workforce was under the age of 20 (Nationalarchives.gov.uk, 2014). In rural areas where agriculture was the main source of income, even children at the young age of five were travelling miles away from their homes to work in the fields. Even though a regulation against the hiring of children as chimney sweeps was disseminated as early as 1788, young people – due to their size and agility - were still used in this position for much of the 19th century. Changes came in 1833 when the Factory Act was enforced. The Act not only created the position of factory inspector, but also prohibited textile factories to employ children who were less than 9 years of age. The Act came at a time when reformers like Richard Oastler were publishing the horrendous working environments of children, likening the dilemma of child labourers to that of slaves. His publication was met with a wave of sentiments that was followed by the abolishment of slavery in the British Empire in 1833-1834. It was also during this period that people begun to acknowledge the importance of education for children (only a minority, mostly from the well-off ruling group, had any form of formal schooling at the start of the century). Under the Factory Act, for children under the age of 13, textile factories were instructed to provide two hours of education daily as a minimum. In 1844, 1847, 1850, 1853 and 1867, further legislation limiting child labour in factories was introduced. After 1867 no factory or workshop could hire any child under the age of 8, and employees aged between 8 and 13 were to receive a minimumof 10 hours of education per week. However, legislation always has its limits and inspectors often found it challenging to disclose the exact age of young people hired in factories, and reports proved that factory owners did not always provide the hours set aside by law for education.
In 1998, the child protection at work regulation was formed. In this regulation (Webteam, 2014), it stated that “children and young people can only work in a limited number jobs and for a limited number of hours, until they reach the minimum school leaving date, which is the last Friday in June of the year in which they reach 16 years.” An employer who permits a child, of school age to work, without first obtaining a work permit, is violating the law and could be prosecuted. Any child over the age of 13 years may work in their spare time, but within the constraints as outlined overleaf and must apply for a work permit first. An application form must be completed by the employer, signed by the parent or guardian of the child and returned to the Home School Support Service. When validated, a work permit will be issued to the child and notification will be sent to the employer. If the child does not receive a work permit it would mean that no application has been made. This could mean that the child is not covered by the employer 's insurance in the event of an accident at work. In this regulation, a list of prohibited employment jobs for children was stated. As mentioned by the Child Employment Regulations (Webteam, 2014), it is illegal to employ or permit children of aged 8 - 13, to work or be involved in any form of employment. This is further explained that no children are to be hired in industry pertaining to using of chemical agents, gambling, presentation of adult materials and working in dangerous construction sites. These environments are deemed unsuitable for children, as it would affect the children’s safety, moral, physical and mental health.
In the present day, the Unicef.org (2013) identifies childhood as “the time for children to be in school and at play, to grow strong and confident with the love and encouragement of their family and an extended community of caring adults”. It is a valuable period in which children should stay free from fear, safe from violence and protected from abuse and exploitation. Thus, childhood signifies much more than just the period between birth and the attainment of adulthood. The term is applicable to the state and condition of a child’s life and the quality of those years and archived material serves as the key to understanding childhood in the past, and as a comparison to childhood today. It gives insight into changes in perspectives on children and young people from the past to the present.
References
Childlineindia.org.in. 2014. Right to Food Legislation and Children. [online] Available at: http://www.childlineindia.org.in/Right-to-Food-Legislation-and-Children.htm [Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
Childrensfoodtrust.org.uk. 2014. Children’s Food Trust | About us | What we do. [online] Available at: http://www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/about/about-the-trust [Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
Extension, C. 2014. Learning Through Play - a Child 's Job. [online] Available at: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columncc/cc010309.html [Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
FACT SHEET: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 2014. [e-book] UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf [Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
Fawcett, M., & Hay, P. (2004, October). 5×5×5= Creativity in the Early Years. International Journal of Art & Design Education.
Gillard, D. (2007) The History of Education in England - History. [online] Available at: http://www.educationengland.org.uk/history/ [Accessed: 10 Feb 2014].
Gov.uk. 2013. Nick Clegg announces funding details for free school meals - News stories - GOV.UK. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nick-clegg-announces-funding-details-for-free-school-meals [Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
Historylearningsite.co.uk. (2014) Coal Mines in the Industrial Revolution [online] Available at: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coal_mines_industrial_revolution.htm[Accessed: 18 Feb 2014].
Historyhome.co.uk. (2013) Why was legislation to improve factory conditions enacted between 1833 and 1850, and how much change did it bring about? [online] Available at: http://www.historyhome.co.uk/peel/factmine/factories.htm [Accessed: 25 Dec 2013].
Hrea.org. 2014. Food & Water. [online] Available at: http://www.hrea.org/index.php?doc_id=404 [Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
Mitchell, J. (1998) Children 's Employment Commission 1842. [online] Available at: http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/cms/document/1842_Durham_Lead.pdf. [Accessed: 25 Dec 2013].
Nationalarchives.gov.uk. 2014. The National Archives | Exhibitions | Citizenship | Struggle for democracy. [online] Available at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/struggle_democracy/childlabour.htm [Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
Ncm.org.uk. (2014) Background Information: Working Conditions in 19th Century Mines. [online] Available at: http://www.ncm.org.uk/docs/background-information/19th-century-working-conditions.pdf?sfvrsn=4 [Accessed: 31 Jan 2014].
Ngos.net. (2013) Summary - Convention on the Rights of the Child. [online] Available at: http://www.ngos.net/conditions/childsrights/summary.html [Accessed: 25 Dec 2013].
Saracho, Olivia N., & Spodek, Bernard (1995). Children 's Play and Early Childhood Education: Insights from History and Theory. Journal of Education.
Teachplaybasedlearning.com. 2014. About Reggio. [online] Available at: http://teachplaybasedlearning.com/8.html[Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
U.K Education Acts since 1800. 2010. [e-book] Jim O’Neil. Available at: http://www.ceejay.org.uk/UK%20Education%20Acts.pdf [Accessed: 6 Feb 2014].
Unicef.org. (2013) UNICEF - SOWC05. [online] Available at: http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/childhooddefined.html [Accessed: 25 Dec 2013].
Unicef.org.uk. (2014). The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child | UNICEF UK. [online] Available at: http://www.unicef.org.uk/UNICEFs-Work/Our-mission/UN-Convention/ [Accessed: 10 Feb 2014]
Webteam, T. 2014. Child Employment Regulations. [online] Available at: http://www.tameside.gov.uk/childemployment [Accessed: 15 Feb 2014].
Williams, R. (1961). The Long Revolution. London: Chatto and Windus.
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Childhood Studies and Guidance and Counselling
PP0618
Childhood Studies - Changing Childhood (Part B)
(3093 words)
The Industrial Revolution that started in the early 1800s saw great change in the common person’s work life. Economies largely dependent on the primary agriculture industries started to diversify into the secondary manufacturing industries as people moved away from farming for a living to working in factories for regular wages. It was a period of rapid growth for firms in the production sector and job opportunities were ample as factories boomed. These jobs were largely labour intensive and did not require specific sets of skills. Hence, uneducated and …show more content…
untrained people with no prior work experience were readily recruited for work and this included very young children from a background of poverty. Many companies grew quickly as the owners of businesses and factories pushed their work force to improve their yields. Working conditions were neglected in the already accident-prone factories adding to hazards (Ncm.org.uk, 2014). This was more so in the lucrative coal mining industry. In 1815, in one unnamed coal mine 58 deaths out of a total 349 deaths in one year, involved children thirteen years or younger. (Historylearningsite.co.uk, 2014). Today, the Unicef.org (2013) defines childhood as “the time for children to be in school and at play, to grow strong and confident with the love and encouragement of their family and an extended community of caring adults”. It is a sensitive period in which vulnerable children should stay free of fear and be safe guarded. It is of utmost importance to protect them against any type of violation, be it physical abuse or exploitation in any of its forms. Childhood is much more than just the period between birth and the attainment of adulthood, for it moulds one’s entire life. The quality of those childhood years as recorded in archived material becomes key to understanding childhood in the past while serving as a comparison to childhood today.
“Instructions From the Central Board of the Children’s Employment Commission to the Sub-Commissioners” (Mitchell, 1998), gives an insight into the issue of child labour and the exploitation of children forced into cheap labour and dangerous jobs. The objective of the article was to persuade high authorities to approve the reviewing of the Factory Act. There were two main factors that were under review, the employment of young persons and the specifics of their job descriptions. The article was written by a particular member of council to other members of council and was written formally and legally, instructing members of the council to gather information on children employed in mines and collieries. The writer also specifically mentioned to take into account the age and number of children employed, the number of working hours, if meals were provided for, the quality of the meals, the nature of the work place and the treatment of the children.
After the initial 1833 Factory Act was implemented, a new act in 1870 (The Forster Act) was put in place.
The Forster Act attempted to provide elementary education for all children aged 5-13. Prior to this, the state had not taken accountability over the need for basic education. The Act resulted in the first local school boards that could compel attendance. However, many of these local authority-run schools did not make use of the given entitlement. The need for greater action was observed and the act was then improvised in 1879 (Sandon’s Act). It highlighted compulsory elementary education for all children and placed the responsibility on parents to make sure that their children were present at school. The Sandon’s Act also created committees in schools to monitor and enforce attendance. In 1880, the Education Act was then added on with school attendance for children aged between 5 and 10 made compulsory. The Education Act also covered children up to the age of 14 unless an exemption certificate was permitted. An exemption could be obtained if the child had met a required number of attendances (250 attendances per year for 10 -12 year olds and 150 per year for those over 12) or if the child had obtained a ‘labour certificate’, verifying that he/she had attained the educational standard required by local by-laws and/or had a paid job to go to (U.K Education Acts since 1800, 2010). New schools were built and school attendance increased even with resistance to the call for …show more content…
universal education. In 1816, 875,000 of the country 's 1.5m children “attended a school of some kind for some period” (Williams, 1961). By 1835, the figure was 1.45m out of 1.75m. If this seems relatively remarkable, it should be taken note of that by 1835 the average period of school attendance was just one year (Gillard, D., 2007). By 1851 the average period of school attendance had increased to two years, and in 1861 an estimated 2.5m children out of 2.75m obtained some form of schooling, “though still of very mixed quality and with the majority leaving before they were eleven” (Williams, 1961). Fast-forwarding to 1891, some 30years later, elementary education was made free.
The UN General Assembly launched a convention for children’s rights for signature on 20 November 1989; the 30th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (Ngos.net, 2013). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international statement of the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. The Convention stated that each child had the right to be educated (including the completion of primary school). The UK government endorsed it on 19 April 1990 and verified it on 16 December 1991. It came into force in the UK on 15 January 1992. Primary education was first made free for all children. Each child’s right to education was enforced. Education that would shape their personality, discover hidden talents and stretch their abilities to the fullest potential. Regretfully, 61 million children are still being deprived of their right to go to school today (Unicef.org.uk, 2014). Free primary school education is not yet a reality for every child, and fees are a foremost hindrance to school attendance. Poverty and the lack of proper schooling facilities are just two common causes as to why children are deprived of their right to education. In 2005, UNICEF and the World Bank commenced an initiative to aid governments abolish school fees in countries such as Mozambique, Uganda, Togo and Kenya (Unicef.org.uk, 2014). UNICEF funded £1.5 million to provide education materials, train teachers, and revamp school facilities in order to help Kenya deal with the resulting surge in number of pupils.
Educators such as Friedrich Froebel and Maria Montessori firmly have confidence in the importance of play. Froebel constructed the first kindergarten and play was an extremely important course to learning. Montessori formed a curriculum that integrated natural play activities, allowing children to choose for themselves how they prefer to play and learn. Both techniques of instruction by Froebel and Montessori were built on observations of children at play. The curriculum was then formed based on the study of these observations of children’s behavioural patterns, interests and inquisitive nature. (Teachplaybasedlearning.com, 2014). John Dewey also had firm viewpoints about play; that the interests and needs of children should be given importance. His beliefs have become fundamental to many current opinions of play. In 1945, the Reggio Emilia Philosophy was founded in Reggio Emilia, Italy, by Loris Malaguzzi. Today, there are a number of both preschools and grade schools that closely follow the outline of her philosophy. It is an approach that does not certainly emphasise on academic learning, as much as it does on the individual ideas and metacognition of each child, through play, social interactions and opportunities presented. Each child’s ethnocentric approach to each condition is positively considered commemorated in the classroom. The outline even sets aside time for group discussions, thus providing an opportunity to observe individuality; “among the benefits were the different ways of thinking, provoking and asking questions” (Fawcett & Hay, 2004).
According to the article 31 of a summary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (FACT SHEET: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2014), “every child has the right to relax, play and join in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities”. Play is not only solely fun time for children, but also a way of learning. Through play, children build an understanding of their animate and inanimate surroundings and pick up skills to resolve simple difficulties, thus developing basic relationships such as friendships. They boost their creativity and acquire leadership abilities and healthy personalities (Extension, 2014). Play develops the aptitudes children require to learn, read and write. This concept of play is still appreciated in early childhood education in present day (Saracho & Spodeck, 1995).
Attached to the letter by the central board of the Children’s Employment Commission were instructions on the principal subjects that required careful investigations. Meals were one of the subjects to be covered, whether the children were given proper meals in terms of the portions, nutritional values and time. Members of the councils were designated to investigate if during meal-time, any children were forced to keep on working, cleaning the machineries or “make up the regular meal-times taken by the adults”. This suggested that the council were concerned of the children’s basic needs and general well being. Children if not fed proper balanced diets can easily suffer from malnutrition, which has severe consequences on physical and mental development. Therefore, both the UNCRC and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights define children 's right to food. There are a number of organisations in the world that protects a child 's right to food. Such as article 44 of the Columbia organisation (Childlineindia.org.in, 2014) conveys "Children have fundamental rights to: life, integrity, health and social security, adequate food".
Children under the age of five are most at risk to malnutrition. The World Health Organization (WHO) associates malnutrition to at least half of the about ten million child deaths that take place every year (Hrea.org, 2014). Young children are more vulnerable to illness resulting from malnutrition and they also go through permanent physical and mental damage that sometimes remains with them throughout their lifetimes. Hence, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) delivers the need for sufficient food, and clean drinking water. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) predicts that there are almost 800 million malnourished people globally.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child safeguards the child’s right to food in the context of the right to life, survival and development, to health, to nutrition and to an adequately acceptable standard of living (Hrea.org, 2014). Unable to ensure children’s right to food has its social consequences. Children trying to escape poverty and hunger often run into situations that end up placing them in more risk. For example, getting conned into child labour, including its most severe forms, such as child slavery, child prostitution or even recruitment as child soldiers. Hunger has also led children to leave school as they have to work in order to get hold of food. Without food, children would not even have the physical and mental strength to attend school. In 2008, it is reported in Unicef.org.uk (2014) that nearly 9 million children died before their fifth birthday from avoidable causes. An estimated 4,000 children die every day from diarrhoea due to poor sanitation and dirty water. Others die for the reason that they do not have sufficient food to eat. Sickness and malnutrition carry on to stunt the development and limit the growth of millions.
In 2005, an organisation, the School Food Trust, which was renamed Children’s Food Trust, was formed in United Kingdom.
This organisation advocates on children eating healthier diets (Childrensfoodtrust.org.uk, 2014). They provide specialist advice, training and support to anyone who provides food for children. In 2013, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has announced £1 billion for the Department of Education to fund the free school meals commitment (Gov.uk, 2013). The government would be providing revenue funding of £450 million in 2014 to 2015 and £635 million in 2015 to 2016 to the Department for Education (DfE) to fund this commitment. This is new money into the DfE budget. It will also make £150 million of capital accessible for the upgrading of kitchens and dining capacity. £70 million of this will be new money from the Treasury (HMT) and around £80 million will be from leftover DfE maintenance
funds.
In the archive quoted previously, it was stated that young persons of aged thirteen to eighteen were to be covered by the new Factory Act. This suggested that children of aged below thirteen were not covered by the law and thus, they not protected and not given any rights. These left children below thirteen prone to exploitation, as supported by Intriguing History (2013), children as young as six, regularly worked more than twelve hours a day regardless of attempts made by parliament in 1819 to improve working conditions for these children. In reality, little had been achieved. It was a period of factory reformation and boom and factory owners believed that the only technique to increase output and productivity was to get the workers to work longer hours for the same, or less, wages. (Historyhome.co.uk, 2013).
The archive also suggested that the Act had already been put in place earlier on by the central board but was not supervised, resulting in loop-holes. This gave the public an impression that the members of the council had formed the new Factory Act to merely show that they were playing their fair part in handling the exploitation of child labour and pursuing proper elementary education for children. Though the letter was given out to emphasize on the Act, the findings by the members of council were not enough to reflect the actual plight of children as factory owners would often be notified earlier on the investigations that required to be carried out. Factory owners would have masked the situation in order to save their factories and gain credits.
In 1821, about 49% of the workforce was under the age of 20 (Nationalarchives.gov.uk, 2014). In rural areas where agriculture was the main source of income, even children at the young age of five were travelling miles away from their homes to work in the fields. Even though a regulation against the hiring of children as chimney sweeps was disseminated as early as 1788, young people – due to their size and agility - were still used in this position for much of the 19th century. Changes came in 1833 when the Factory Act was enforced. The Act not only created the position of factory inspector, but also prohibited textile factories to employ children who were less than 9 years of age. The Act came at a time when reformers like Richard Oastler were publishing the horrendous working environments of children, likening the dilemma of child labourers to that of slaves. His publication was met with a wave of sentiments that was followed by the abolishment of slavery in the British Empire in 1833-1834. It was also during this period that people begun to acknowledge the importance of education for children (only a minority, mostly from the well-off ruling group, had any form of formal schooling at the start of the century). Under the Factory Act, for children under the age of 13, textile factories were instructed to provide two hours of education daily as a minimum. In 1844, 1847, 1850, 1853 and 1867, further legislation limiting child labour in factories was introduced. After 1867 no factory or workshop could hire any child under the age of 8, and employees aged between 8 and 13 were to receive a minimumof 10 hours of education per week. However, legislation always has its limits and inspectors often found it challenging to disclose the exact age of young people hired in factories, and reports proved that factory owners did not always provide the hours set aside by law for education.
In 1998, the child protection at work regulation was formed. In this regulation (Webteam, 2014), it stated that “children and young people can only work in a limited number jobs and for a limited number of hours, until they reach the minimum school leaving date, which is the last Friday in June of the year in which they reach 16 years.” An employer who permits a child, of school age to work, without first obtaining a work permit, is violating the law and could be prosecuted. Any child over the age of 13 years may work in their spare time, but within the constraints as outlined overleaf and must apply for a work permit first. An application form must be completed by the employer, signed by the parent or guardian of the child and returned to the Home School Support Service. When validated, a work permit will be issued to the child and notification will be sent to the employer. If the child does not receive a work permit it would mean that no application has been made. This could mean that the child is not covered by the employer 's insurance in the event of an accident at work. In this regulation, a list of prohibited employment jobs for children was stated. As mentioned by the Child Employment Regulations (Webteam, 2014), it is illegal to employ or permit children of aged 8 - 13, to work or be involved in any form of employment. This is further explained that no children are to be hired in industry pertaining to using of chemical agents, gambling, presentation of adult materials and working in dangerous construction sites. These environments are deemed unsuitable for children, as it would affect the children’s safety, moral, physical and mental health.
In the present day, the Unicef.org (2013) identifies childhood as “the time for children to be in school and at play, to grow strong and confident with the love and encouragement of their family and an extended community of caring adults”. It is a valuable period in which children should stay free from fear, safe from violence and protected from abuse and exploitation. Thus, childhood signifies much more than just the period between birth and the attainment of adulthood. The term is applicable to the state and condition of a child’s life and the quality of those years and archived material serves as the key to understanding childhood in the past, and as a comparison to childhood today. It gives insight into changes in perspectives on children and young people from the past to the present.
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