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School leaving procedure is carried out, especially in boarding schools, as early as
possible after the child has come within the statutory age limit so that where a report
is necessary the form of care to be provided after leaving school can be settled at the
earliest reasonable moment to prepare the child for the life ahead. As part of the assessment
of the needs of the case a social worker from the public health department visits
the child at the school. Where a child who has no home or whose home is unsuitable
has to be admitted to a hostel or placed under guardianship, as part of the effort to
accustom the child to the decision he is introduced to the proposed guardian or a visit
to the hostel is arranged. Instead of wondering, and in some cases worrying, as to what
the future holds in store he will now know and learn to look forward to the new life
after school in which it is hoped he will learn to adjust himself to industrial conditions
and, eventually, earn his living like any other citizen.
This Act, of which the objective was the promotion of the nation s health, was
almost entirely concerned with the prevention and treatment of physical and mental
illness and abnormality. Whilst the provisions of the Education Act, 1944, regarding
special education remained unaltered the National Health Service Act provided a
number of local health authority, hospital and specialist and general medical services
which are available to educationally subnormal children and their parents as to other
members of the community and thus lightened the burden of caring for them.
The National
Health
Service
Act, 1946
The Mental Health Bill*
The recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Law relating to Mental
Illness and Mental Deficiency may be divided into two classes, those requiring new
legislation before they could be put into effect and recommendations which can become
effective as soon as administratively convenient, under existing powers. Whilst the
Mental Health Bill deals, inter alia, with the duty and power to provide voluntary or
compulsory care and treatment for mentally ill persons, both in their own interest and in
the interest of the public, few of its recommendations are concerned specifically with
the education of children. These few, however, are of vital importance. The most
important concerns the future of children who have not shown ability to profit by
education, even in special E.S.N. schools. It is proposed, in the new Bill, that section 57 of
the Education Act, 1944, should be repealed and replaced by a new section which would
remove the statutory duty to report to the local health authority the name of any child
about to leave any school who is found by the local education authority to require
further care and supervision.
The proposed new section 57 stipulates that the local education authority shall
record the decision that the ineducable child is suffering from a disability of mind of
such a nature as renders him unsuitable for education in school, and shall forward a
report of the decision to the local health authority (2nd Schedule—57 (4) ). It will,
however, give the parent the right (2nd Schedule—57A (1) (a)) to demand a review of the
decision after a year's interval from the recording of the decision and once in any
subsequent year. In addition to this parental right the 2nd Schedule— (section 57A (1)
(b)) implies that the local health authority should also review 'reported' children at
regular intervals. If these proposals become law, it is likely that in London all such
children will be reviewed yearly. In the event of a child having improved sufficiently
to return to special school the local health authority shall inform the local education
authority of the position.
It is of interest in this connection that under the new legislation it will not be
necessary for the local education authority which recorded the decision that the child
was ineducable officially to rescind its decision if the child is no longer in its area, but
the authority recommending the child's re-admission to school would notify the
previous local education authority of its decision to rescind the notification of unfitness
to attend school.
*The Bill received royal assent on 29th July, 1959 and section 57 of the Education Act, 1944 was re-endcted in the
form envisaged.
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