The first part of this extract accepts that many parents had very little money to spend on clothes for their children.
The second rule was probably a reminder to those families who lived outside the town. Many children from country areas had to walk for miles on dark and muddy roads in winter, so they needed to make an early start.

The authorities knew that children would not make progress at school without regular attendance so they introduced penalties for parents whose children were absent without a good excuse.

Another new school opens in 1886...