Dame schools were small, privately run schools for children aged two to five. They emerged in Great Britain and its colonies during the early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman who would care for children and teach them the alphabet for a small fee. Dame schools were localized, and could typically be found at the town or parish level.

At dame schools, children could be expected to learn reading and arithmetic, and were sometimes also educated in writing. Girls were often instructed in handiwork such as knitting and sewing. Dame schools lasted from the sixteenth century to about the mid-nineteenth century, when compulsory education was introduced in Britain. Dame schools were the precursors to present-day nursery and primary schools. Although sometimes ridiculed, there were many famous alumni, including Samuel Johnson and William Wordsworth for certain, and possibly Charles Dickens.

The origins of dame schools are unknown. They seem to have naturally evolved from a demand for accessible early childhood education and cheap, convenient childcare. In many instances, dame schools were taught in the teacher’s own home. School dames laboured with small groups of children ages 2–5 wherever a demand existed and their own qualifications were accepted. Dame schools did not form a network; instead, they were independently run by women in their own local areas. Many of these teachers were either impoverished middle class widows or older unmarried women, or young, unmarried women who needed additional income. A few dame schools were taught by men.

School dames often only charged a few shillings in fees. For instance, Dame Seamer of Darlington, Durham was recorded as receiving four shillings a year per pupil.^[when?] In the mid-17th century, that sum would be roughly four days wages for a skilled tradesman, and a loaf of bread cost approximately sixpence.

Dame school pupils were the children of tradesmen and labouring parents, and in many cases, a dame school education was the only form of education these children ever received. The teacher would offer class for several hours per the day. In class, she would teach her pupils reading and writing, often from a hornbook. During this time period, reading and writing were taught separately, and it was more common for both girls and boys to learn to read, and for just boys to learn to write. Even so, during the eighteenth century a rising movement discouraged working-class children from learning to write, so in some cases dame school pupils may not have been taught writing at all. The ability to read the Bible, however, was viewed as a religious obligation, so learning to read was always encouraged. Some school dames would teach their pupils the Catechism, or would invite the local clergyman to teach children the catechism during class time. Typically, rudimentary arithmetic would also be provided, offering pupils the opportunity to learn the calculation of household accounts. Girls in particular would be taught how to knit at school, providing them with an important vocational skill.

Dame schools seem to have been widely spread across England by the eighteenth century. The rector Francis Brokesby said of the school dame’s efforts, “There are few country villages where some or other do not get a livelihood by teaching school, so there are now not many but can write and read, unless it have been their own or their parent’s fault.” However, it is difficult to estimate an exact number of dame schools in England during a given time period: while school masters and mistresses were licensed, the informal nature of the dame school makes documentation of them scarce. For instance, of 836 villages surveyed in Yorkshire during the Tudor period, there were dame schools in approximately one village in forty.

Dame schools were largely affected by the industrialization of the nineteenth century. As more and more parents worked in factories, dame schools offered a form of cheap day care. Some offered only child care, while others also offered education. The Sunday School movement also arose in the 19th century, and operated similarly to the dame schools: children would attend Sunday School every Sunday to receive basic literacy instruction and religious lessons. Despite this, in many ways dame schools continued to function in their traditional way: offering rudimentary education to pupils for a small fee.

The 19th century was also marked by educational social reform movements, which greatly impacted dame schools. Near the middle of the century, private philanthropists established free schools targeted to educate lower-class children. However, many parents were unhappy to send their children to these middle-class schools, and opted instead to pay to send their children to the local dame school. In many areas of East London, especially in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green, more children were educated at dame schools than at philanthropic schools.