Plan of Uffculme Open-Air School

Description:Uffculme Open-Air School opened in 1911 in the grounds of the Uffculme estate, between Moseley and Kings Heath. The land was provided by Barrow and Geraldine Cadbury, whose son Paul had benefitted from a regime of fresh air and rest in Cropwood, Worcestershire, after he was suspected of having tuberculosis.^{<small>1</small>} The Cadburys were amongst many concerned about the poor health and nutrition of large numbers of Birmingham’s school children, revealed by the establishment in 1908 of a scheme for the medical inspection of children attending elementary schools in Birmingham under the Elementary Education (Administrative Provisions) Act of 1907. Reports of the Medical Superintendents during the period before the First World War describe the prevalence of tuberculosis and anaemia, as well as poor eyesight, bad teeth, enlarged tonsils, skin diseases, and rickets.^{<small>2</small>} Concern was expressed about the living conditions of these children, particularly the lack of fresh air in many homes. Smoke pollution meant that people kept their windows closed, which was thought to contribute to the spread of tuberculosis.^{<small>3</small>} The Medical Superintendent's reports also express fears about families where several members suffered from ‘epilepsy, moral delinquency, imbecility and incorrigible truancy’ and state the need for society to ‘protect itself from the unrestricted propagation of tainted stocks’ by providing institutions for the ‘feeble minded’.^{<small>4</small>}

Evidently, the Uffculme site on the borders of Moseley and Kings Heath was considered to be far enough away from industrial and domestic smoke and pollution to be a healthy place to establish an open-air school. The principles followed at Uffculme were based on similar schools in Germany, and on open-air schools that had been opened in London, Yorkshire, and Norwich. The curriculum was based on fresh air and sunlight, alongside proper diet, rest, hygiene, and appropriate medical treatments.^{<small>5</small>} Lessons were taught outside when possible, and classrooms were opened to the air, as was the ‘resting shed’, which was equipped with beds. Children were given extra warm clothing to wear during the winter.^{<small>6</small>}

Around the same time that Uffculme was established, the Playgrounds Sub-Committee of the Education Committee approached the Parks Committee for permission to use some of the city’s parks for open-air classes. Calthorpe Park was used from April to October 1913 for 30 students from Hope Street Council School Upper Department on each school half-day, when weather allowed, for physical exercises, organised games, practical arithmetic, sketching, nature study and geography. The park keepers were asked to prevent the disruption of lessons ‘by idle or mischievous persons’.^{<small>7</small>}

Uffculme was intended for children with more serious health problems. In the main, pupils were recommended by medical practitioners and attended for several months, with most returning home afterwards. However, by the 1920s, it was recognised that a longer period was needed in order for real improvements to health. The regime at Uffculme was clearly beneficial; reports on children attending showed that their height, weight and general health all improved during their time there.^{<small>8</small>} Other open-air schools opened in and around Birmingham in the 1930s. Education for ‘defective children’ had become compulsory in 1921, and the diet and fresh air regime at open-air schools was thought to alleviate illnesses and conditions that had been associated with ‘backwardness’, which are likely to have been the result of malnutrition.^{<small>9</small>} Developments stalled during the Second World War, and after the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, open-air schools became part of the system of schools for children with special needs. The rest sheds at Uffculme were enclosed in 1956, and by the late 1950s, more children with behavioural problems were being admitted.^{<small>10</small>}


<font color="#666633"><small>¹ Frances Wilmot and Pauline Saul, A Breath of Fresh Air: Birmingham’s Open-Air Schools, 1911-1970 (Phillimore, 1998), pp.14-5
² City of Birmingham Education Committee, Report of Medical Superintendent, 1908, pp.18-29
³ City of Birmingham Education Committee, Report of Medical Superintendent, 1908, p.43; Wilmot and Saul, p.5
⁴ City of Birmingham Education Committee, Report of Medical Superintendent, 1909, p.76
⁵ Wilmot and Saul, p.7
⁶ City of Birmingham Education Committee, Report of Medical Superintendent, 1911, p.78
⁷ Birmingham City Council Parks Committee Minutes, 7 April 1913 [BA&H: BCC 1 BO/1/1/2]
⁸ Wilmot and Saul, p.52
⁹ Wilmot and Saul, p.134
¹⁰ Wilmot and Saul, pp.233-4</small></font>