During the Second World War, British education was severely damaged. In order to restore education and rebuild the economy, 1943, the government published a white paper on education reform. Its central suggestion is that the statutory public education system should be divided into three stages: primary education, secondary education and continuing education. 1944, the Minister of Education, R.A. Butler, proposed an education bill in Parliament, which was quickly passed, so it was also called the Butler Education Law.

This motion contains 122. The main contents are:

(1) cancel the central education department established in 1899, which is only responsible for supervision, and establish the Ministry of Education as the leading body of national education administration to strengthen the state's control and leadership over education. (2) Abolish the discontinuous and overlapping academic system of primary and secondary education in the past, and divide the statutory public education system into three continuous stages: primary education (5 years old-1 1 year old), secondary education (1 1 year old) and continuing education (for school-leaving teenagers).

(3) Extend the length of compulsory education from the original 9 years (5-14 years) to 10 years (5-15 years), and further extend it to 1 year in areas where conditions permit.

(4) Public schools are free and provide different types of education according to students' age, ability and sexual orientation. (5) Religious schools should be incorporated into the national education system, and all public and private schools should provide religious education.

(6) All kinds of independent schools must be registered with the Ministry of Education and be inspected.

(7) Specify the responsibilities of local education authorities in detail: provide students with free medical care, milk, lunch and other snacks, including clothing, food and accommodation when necessary; Providing special education for disabled children; Pay tuition fees for a few students admitted to fee-paying schools, provide living allowances for public school students, and provide scholarships for students receiving continuing education and higher education; Responsible for organizing amateur cultural and recreational activities for teenagers; Provide preschool education for children aged 2-5; Establish county colleges to provide part-time education for young people who leave school under 18 years old, and so on.

Butler Act laid the foundation of British education system after World War II. However, the educational system of coexistence of public schools and missionary schools left over from history has not completely changed, and public schools have not been included in the national education system. It is a very arduous task to realize the provisions of the law.