§ SIR F. S. POWELL ( (Wigan))I beg to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education whether, in view of the serious loss which many schools must otherwise suffer in consequence of severe weather in calculating their aver age attendance, he will in the new code arrange that such schools should be allowed to omit from the calculation of the average attendance such a number of the meetings, with their attendances, as will secure such schools against any loss due to the severity of the weather?
§ THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (Mr. A. H. D. ACLAND, York, W. R., Rotherham)I have given directions by a Circular to the inspectors that special allowance is to be made for the recent exceptionally severe weather, in their assessment of the grants and their judgment of the efficiency of schools shortly to be inspected. I am afraid I cannot undertake to go further. To allow schools to count only the best-attended meetings in calculating their average attendance would place the scale of grants on a new footing, and add seriously to the burden on the Exechequer.
§ MR. E. F. VESEY KNOX (Cavan, W.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the attention of inspectors has yet been called to the desirability of leniency 538 in examining schools, owing to the recent severe weather; and, if so, what was the date of the National Board's circular; and whether he will say what are the objections to including among the rules of the National Board a rule similar to rule 101 in the English code, giving to schools where the average attendance has been greatly reduced by the prevalence of an epidemic, or other exceptional cause of the like nature, a special grant making up the loss in the ordinary grant?
MR. J. MORLEYI am inquiring further into this matter, and perhaps my hon. and learned Friend will repeat the question next Thursday.