Jelinger Cookson Symons (27 August 1809 – 7 April 1860) was an English barrister, school inspector and writer.
[1][2] In 1835 Symons received a commission from the Home Office to inquire into the state of the hand-loom weavers and manufacturers.
He then held a tithe commissionership, and was a commissioner to inquire into the state of the mining population of the north of England.
In 1848 Lord Lansdowne made Symons one of Her Majesty's permanent inspectors of schools, a post he retained through life.
[1] He also concerned himself with the establishment of reformatories for juvenile criminals, drawing attention to the "colony" at Mettray in France.