§ Sir JAMES YOXALLasked the President of the Board of Education if at any recent meetings of His Majesty's inspectors, convened by circular from the Board, the sub-inspectors were excluded from presence at some of the meetings or parts of the meetings; and whether, in these instances, admission was given to the junior inspectors?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Runciman)It has not been the general practice for twenty or thirty years past for sub-inspectors to attend divisional conferences. Their large number would, if present, entirely alter the nature of the meetings and the kind of work that can be carried out there. As the number of junior inspectors is small this point has not hitherto arisen in their case, and they have been present at divisional but by no means at all conferences of inspectors. As their number has of late considerably increased I have already had under consideration a return to the earlier practice of restricting the divisional conferences to His Majesty's inspectors. But the decision as to the particular officers who are summoned to attend any particular conference depends of necessity upon the nature of the subjects to be dealt with, upon the kind of discussion or deliberation that is wanted at the time, and various other considerations.