Which 1870 law created the framework for public elementary education in England and Wales?

The Elementary Education Act 1870 created the framework for public elementary education in England and Wales.

Often called Forster’s Education Act, it was drafted by Liberal MP William Forster and received royal assent on August 9, 1870. The law established elected school boards and gave local authorities powers to create schools where existing provision was insufficient.

The act addressed children aged five to twelve and helped organize a public system, but it did not immediately make schooling free or universally compulsory. School boards could make attendance compulsory through local bylaws, and later laws expanded and strengthened those requirements.

That distinction matters because the act is sometimes described too simply as creating compulsory education. The Elementary Education Act 1880 required attendance throughout England and Wales, while elementary schooling became free in both board and voluntary schools in 1891.