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By accepting the Government's grant in 1872 the school became subject to inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools and had to conform to the conditions laid down by the Education Act 1870 and the Codes devised to raise standards in the grant aided and maintained schools throughout the country. Grant aid brought with it many changes. The first of these was the need for a certificated teacher as Mistress to replace Miss Frances Mary Noble. The second was the appearance of a school log book which commenced in January 1872.

The first entry in the new log book gives the new Mistress's name as Miss Elizabeth Neville, who had the assistance of a pupil teacher, Jane Sibley.

The population of Tiptree Heath was now approaching 1000, including the Rector, the Dissenters' Meeting House Minister, seven farmers and six shopkeepers.

Although there were about 90 children on the registers of the school, attendance during 1872 was never more than 44 because of the nature of the widely scattered village, the inclemency of the weather, epidemics of sickness and the demands for child labour in harvesting the fruit, peas and other crops during the summer months. Quite often the school registers were not marked nor lessons given because there were insufficient children to form a class; the children who did arrive were sent home.

The pattern of school life is not easy to follow in the school log, because the entries are rarely in sufficient detail. However, it is clear that from 1872 the subjects taught were Reading, Writing, (this was practised by copying work set by teacher and tested by Dictation), Arithmetic, Singing, Needlework, (sewing) for girls only and Scripture. In addition time was allowed for Hymn singing, Church Practice and attendance at Church on certain periods of the week.

The Church, through the Rector and his family, kept careful watch on all school activities. Every week one or more of the family visited the school to inspect the work, particularly the girls' needlework. At each of the official inspections made periodically by the Government Inspector and/or the Diocesan Inspector, the Rector and his family would be present. The Diocesan Inspector was chiefly concerned with the Religious Instruction given and the standards attained by the children. From 1874, however, the Rector's daughters were not content to merely inspect the work, but were able and willing to assist the staff by taking the various classes for Arithmetic, Reading or Needlework. As the Rector had three daughters at this time, Miss Neville was rarely without assistance from these volunteers.

Some of the difficulties met in attempting to provide education for the children of the poor by these voluntary means are illustrated by the entries in the school log of this time. These show that there are neither enough books nor desks for all the children. Fortunately, the efforts of the Rector and his friends of the church were able to raise enough money to put these matters right. When the new building and the extensions to the earlier building were completed, 1872, a gallery was built in the classroom and used for Scripture lessons for the first time “a great improvement was found.” This gallery was simply an arrangement of benches without backs, set in tiers, on which the children sat to receive instruction. This was probably considered to be an essential piece of classroom equipment. Its advantages were that it enabled the children to see the teacher without difficulty, and the children to be seen.

Most of the work was done on slates, especially that of the younger children; when the older children did their Arithmetic and Dictation on paper, the fact was worthy of mention in the school log.

The procedure followed for an inspection by H.M.I. as revealed by the school log is interesting. The school year ended with the last day of the month preceding that fixed for the inspection, which in this particular year was around January. On the afternoon preceding the Inspector's visit, the children were given a half-day's holiday in order that the school-room may be suitably prepared. Work done throughout the year was set out; copy books or papers; girls' needlework, infant slates, containing specimens of handwriting and figures; these, together with the reading books and bibles were on show. Great efforts were made to persuade as many children as possible to be at school on time in the morning of the inspection, as the number of successful pupils influenced the amount of grant in aid the school would receive from the Government.

To obtain a more accurate picture of the inspection itself it is necessary to refer to the Revised Code of 1862, which was to influence Education until 1895. This code introduced the system of “Payments by Results” which became the centre of a great deal of controversy among educationalists, politicians and teachers.

This Code of 1862 contains clear and direct instructions to the Inspectorate on the manner of conducting the inspection, including the preliminary precautions necessary to ensure that no deceit was practised by the school managers or teachers.

“The school will be placed before you in order of its usual classes. It may be well to test this by asking for the class registers and calling over the names of two of the classes taken at venture. It is also assumed that you have a paper before you containing the Dictation which you mean to give for the writing and the Arithmetic for each standard. All the children will remain throughout the examination.

You will begin with Writing and Arithmetic and you will direct the teachers to see that all who are to be examined under Standard I have before them a slate and a pencil; under Standards II and III a slate, a pencil, and a reading book. All under Standards IV – VI a half sheet of folio paper, a pen, ink and the appropriate reading book.

You will then call, “Standard I, stand up through the school.” The children will stand in their usual places without quitting them. The object of this movement is to ascertain those who are to act on the next order without destroying the daily arrangement of the school. When this has been correctly effected by the assistance of the teachers, you will call, “Standard I, sit down and write on your slates as I dictate.” You will then dictate the letters and figures which they are to write down.

You will pursue the same course with Standard II directing them to write their names and Standard on their slates and announcing to them out of their book the line they are to copy and their sums.

You will pursue the same course “mutatis mutandis” with Standard III (slates) and Standard IV-VI (paper), The whole school having thus had their dictation given to them and being on work at their arithmetic (except oral arithmetic remaining to be given under Standard I), you will allow time enough to elapse for the completion of the exercises, say three-quarters of an hour. You will call them name by name from the examination schedule supplied by the Chairman of the Managers, to read, which you will hear each do and immediately afterwards, mark in each column of the schedule for writing and arithmetic also as far as time will allow. If this fails before you can go through the whole of them, you should mark only the slated work of those who do not write on paper and you will bring the rest of the papers away with you to mark at home. You must be careful to collect and keep them in the order of the schedule, otherwise you will not easily be able to put the correct marks against the correct name. All the papers marked must be sent to this office with your report. In an ordinary scale of EXCELLENT, GOOD, FAIR, MODERATE, IMPERFECT, and FAILURE, an exercise marked as FAIR may pass. The word FAIR means that reading is intelligible though not quite good; dictation is legible and rightly spelled in all common words, though the writing may need improvement and less common words may be mis-spelled. In arithmetic the sums must be right in method and at least one sum free from error.”

Thus would the inspection be conducted. The school log shows that during the whole of the inspection the Rector and his family would be present and the afternoon declared a holiday. Within the next few days the Rector would award prizes to the successful children and later, when the Inspector's report had been received, he would copy a summary of this into the log. Once all this had been done, the Mistress would issue new copy books to the children of Class I and 2 (the older children)in which they would begin to prepare work to be shown at the next examination, a year hence.

Throughout the year at regular intervals the Mistress examined the various classes in the three basic subjects – reading, writing and arithmetic. The infants too were examined in dictation “capital letters - in order that they may be up to standard.” It is noted that from 1876 the older children received home-work in arithmetic.

During Miss Neville's period as Mistress 1872-1877, the reports of H.M.I. Were favourable. “The school is conducted with care and efficiency and the needlework (sewing) is well taught.”

Whole afternoons were devoted to the needlework and it is recorded that shirts made were sold to the parents.

From 1872 one pupil teacher was authorised and employed at the school and from 1874, because of the increasing numbers, a monitress was also engaged; a child who is shown as leaving the school but two months earlier. The Pupil-teacher and the Monitress were given time for their private study and one hour of instruction by the School-mistress each day. At each visit of the Inspector, these two young people were examined in their work. At the end of five years' apprenticeship the pupil teacher took an examination in Colchester for the Queen's Scholarship, which when successfully passed enabled her to enter a “Normal School” i.e. a teachers' training college. At this time, however. There were not sufficient places or colleges to absorb all the candidates available. If a pupil teacher was unable to gain admission to a training college through lack of places, or having passed the Queen's Scholarship examination, did not wish to enter training college, she could become an assistant teacher – uncertificated – and work in rural schools. Certificated status could be gained only on the successful completion of a two year course at a teacher training college.

The school seems to have been organised on the following lines during the period of Miss Neville's term of office.

Generally, the number of children in Class One at any given time was small as these older children were useful in the fields and attendance at school was infrequent.

There was a fair amount of interchange of classes among the staff to enable the Mistress to instruct, test and examine the children in each age group. In this way the pupil teacher and the monitress were able to widen their experience, learning to teach the skills at various levels. When the Mistress or one of her assistants was absent through illness or inclement weather, the children in that class would be taken by one of the older girls.

In 1874 it was found necessary to open a branch school at Endway on the outskirts of the village as it was thought to be too far for the children in that area to walk to the main school. There is no record of the work done there, nor of the staff, but it must have been inspected by H.M.I. as it qualified for a separate grant under the Act of 1870. This branch school remained open till 1876, when the children were transferred to the main school.

The syllabus of the school was widened in 1876 by the introduction of Geography and Grammar as additional optional subjects which could be offered for grant.

Although there is frequent record of children being admitted to the school at this time, there is only occasional reference to children leaving. This makes it extremely difficult to assess the number of children attending the school at any one time. The few who are recorded as leaving are those who are quitting the parish. There is an occasional reference to girls leaving the school “for service.”

School holidays were as follows. Easter – about twelve days; Whitsun – one day; August – about five weeks, this was called the Harvest holiday. Christmas holiday was about two weeks. In addition there were occasional holidays for an inspection by the H.M.I. and/or the Diocesan Inspector; on the day of any concert which was to be held in the schoolroom to raise funds for the school or for the church; on the day of the school feast, which was held just before the Harvest Holiday. This function would be the high-light of the year – the children being entertained and the feast provided from the school funds. The Rector and his family would be in attendance and possibly other members of the school management board.