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of the parents in writing unless it could be shown that the withholding of such consent
was unreasonable, and consent was not deemed to be withheld unreasonably if withheld
with the bona fide intention, of which the court was the judge, of benefiting the child.
An order to attend a residential school did not authorize school attendance officers
to take a child forcibly from his home to either a day or a residential school. In the
event of non-attendance, the parent was summoned for non-compliance with the order
or an application was made for an order to send the child to an industrial school of a
type suitable for mental defectives. The court had power to award to the parent costs
which could include compensation for expense, trouble and loss of time incidental
to attendance if it refused to make an order so that, apart from considerations of
equity, there was a strong practical incentive to the adequate preparation of cases.
Provision of
special
education
Special education for educable mentally defective children was provided in special:
day and residential M.D. schools and there was little possibility of backward children
receiving special educational aid if they remained in ordinary elementary schools. A
medical officer might suggest special coaching in certain subjects but in most instances
it was possible to give little practical effect to such a recommendation.
Day special schools—Special M.D. day schools generally consisted of small single storey
buildings in a corner of the playground of ordinary elementary schools and, although
within the curtilage of the ordinary schools, they were completely isolated from contact
with them. They had separate entrances and all connecting doors into the main school
were locked so that only in emergencies was there contact of any kind between the
pupils of the two kinds of school. These schools were divided into junior (boys and
girls to 11 years) and elder boys' schools and elder girls' schools (11 to 16 years).
It began to be recognised that this system of somewhat modest buildings hidden
away in the corners of school playgrounds was detrimental to the morale of the school
and caused resentment and opposition from parents who objected to their children being
sent to what was so obviously an 'abnormal' school instead of attending the big school
with their neighbour's children. As time went on the Council allocated larger premises
to special education, of which a practical aspect is shown in the inset.
Residential special schools—The need for residential special schools before the second
world war was not very great and the Council's residential M.D. school provision consisted
only of one school and accommodation in two children's residential homes for
a number of children who attended M.D. day schools. These establishments admitted
children who showed a tendency towards delinquency or truancy or who were out of
the control of their parents or who could not be cared for at home for some other
reason. The total residential accommodation in 1939 was 459.
In addition, provision was made for children specially recommended to be maintained
in boarding schools run by religious bodies, other local authorities or voluntary
organisations.
Medical
supervision
of children
at special
schools
The Act provided that all pupils should be re-examined, mentally and physically,
to ascertain whether any pupil had improved sufficiently to return to an ordinary
school or deteriorated so much that he was unfit to be retained in school.
In addition to this periodic review the Board of Education directed that any parent
could demand re-examination at any time after six months from the date of the last
examination. In London examinations were carried out at roughly nine-monthly
intervals by the certifying officer attached to each school. They were informal, parents
were not invited to attend nor were they informed of the result unless they had asked
for reconsideration, the examination resulted in a change of category, or there was
some other reason to do so.
Notification
on leaving
school
At about the age of 15½ special consideration was given to all mentally detective
children in attendance at special schools to decide whether there was a need for further
special care or supervision after leaving. Such further care could only be provided under
the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, and if necessary, it meant that the child would have
to be notified to the mental deficiency authority (the Council) as likely to benefit by or
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