History of the census

How will your lives change......in 10 years time? Work/ school? Leisure? Travel? Housing?Health?

How will your lives change......in 20 years time? Work/ school? Leisure? Travel? Housing?Health?

How will your lives change......in 50 years time? Work/ school? Leisure? Travel? Housing?Health?

How has society changed? Population 9.3 million million52 million

How has society changed? People

How has society changed? Transport

How has society changed? Education

How has society changed? Work

Society is always changing The characteristics and lifestyles of the population are always changing. Since 1801, the census has collected and shared facts about our population. It is a fantastic source of historical information. The census collects information every 10 years. Since 1801, the country has experienced dramatic changes in society – there have been wars, many kings and queens, and huge developments in industry, technology and culture.

What would you ask a Victorian child? Do you have brothers and sisters? How do you travel around? What do you study at school? What do you enjoy doing? What is your favourite toy or game? What is your local community like? What is your house like? What jobs do your family do?

Portrait of Victorian families’ lives Stick Victorian family 1 and 2 onto the poster paper and add words and drawings to create an image of their lives. Think about: Work/ school? Leisure? Travel? Housing?Health?

Victorian family 1 Rich Victorian family: Health – disease was common for all classes, but the rich families could afford to live and eat more healthily. Work – the very rich or upper class did not have to work. Middle class men worked as doctors, lawyers or well-off tradesmen but women didn’t work. School – children were educated at home by private tutors, or sent to boarding schools, grammar schools or private academies.

Victorian family 1 Rich Victorian family: Housing – they lived in big houses with servants. Leisure – they went on holidays to the beach, to watch the theatre and they bought their children expensive toys and pets like horses. Travel – they could afford to travel by horse-drawn carts and upper class railway.

Victorian family 2 Poor Victorian family: Health – many people died from disease and infection as they lived in poor conditions, and could not afford to pay for a doctor. Work – children worked from a very young age. Many women worked in the domestic industry and men worked in industries such as railway, gas, water, electricity, building and construction. School – many poor children worked full or part-time so didn’t attend school. Some went to ‘ragged schools’ or ‘church schools’.

Victorian family 2 Poor Victorian family: Housing – they lived in poor conditions and many shared their housing and bathing facilities with other families. Leisure – they could not afford holidays or to buy toys but they enjoyed themselves at home by singing and dancing. Travel – many poor families could not afford to pay for transport and so walked to work.

Creating a picture of the population The census helps to create a picture of the population, providing information about people and their lives: –age, gender, marital status etc –health –occupation –religion and ethnicity –education –number of people living in a household and their relationship –housing.

Creating a picture of the population During the Victorian period, this information helped to highlight the increasing number of children, and the huge number of people who lived in poverty and died from disease. Government and society had to change the way it treated children. New laws were introduced to protect children from poverty and violence.

Creating a picture of the population Acts were introduced to improve children’s education and to limit the age of employment: – Mines Act - boys under 12 years could not work underground unless they could read or write. – Factory and Workshops Act - children under 10 years could not be employed in factories. – The Government introduced free education for all children up to the age of 11 years.

Society is always changing...

Society is always changing By comparing your lives to a Victorian child’s and learning about rich and poor families, you can see how much society has changed over time. The 2011 Census will collect information about our lives today, and in future years children can use this information to learn how we lived and how society has changed. The information from the 2011 Census will also be used by Government to decide what services are needed to help improve the lives of people across England and Wales.

Census in 100 years Imagine you have travelled 100 years into the future. What will life be like? Work/ school? Leisure? Travel? Housing?Health?