A visit from Her Majesty’s Inspector on Education found that at 48°F, the “heating of the rooms requires looking into.” James Balfour also notes that many changes were made to the accommodation as “the dormitories do not meet the views of the Medical Officer”.
The trustees appeared to be increasingly concerned about public relations as elderly workers were dismissed with a minimal pension and the trustees agreed that the press should not be informed of this development.
Around the turn of the century all school materials were replaced with Braille equivalents and a new teacher was hired.
Speaking in 1903, Colonel James Allardyce, who was at that point the organisation’s first and recently appointed Chairman of the Governors, listed the achievements to date. He said 150 blind children had passed through the school and 300 blind workers had been employed, of which 135 had come from the school. He spoke of a boy who had joined aged eight when the school opened and sixty years later was still working in the workshops; another worker had completed fifty years of service, three had completed over forty years and seven had been with the organisation for over thirty years. At that time the workshops employed fifty-nine workers and between them their work had produced £6252 in sales for the preceding year.
The number of children attending the school had been declining and it was decided that as only six pupils would start the new academic year and of those only two would be residential, the school should be closed.
In 1906, King Edward VII visited the workshop. To celebrate the occasion, the workers were given one day of paid holiday and a gratuity of 2s 6d. This was repeated again in 1911, with a gratuity of 2s each, to celebrate the coronation of King George V.
The mattress department was extended and new machines for cleaning and sterilising bedding were installed. The workers presented a petition for a new code of conditions. The board felt that the requests could not be granted and workers petitioned them again in 1913.
Apprenticeships were introduced to give a sliding pay scale that increased with each year of experience over a five or nine year period, the board agreed to pay health insurance contributions and a minimum wage was reintroduced.
At some point between 1913 and 1917, the organisation held its first flag day to raise funds. Games were held, the band performed and members of the public offering a donation were given a small paper flag on a pin to wear.
