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81
SOME LIABILITIES.
In taking my farewell of the Education Committee, it is well to remind
you that Local Education Authorities are under obligation to provide for the
education of all children belonging to their area whose age exceeds seven years
and who are ascertained to be mentally defective—but eaucable in a public
school, backward class, or special school. The responsibility of providing for
ineducable children rests upon the Middlesex County Council. This is provided
by the Elementary Education (defective and epileptic children) Act 1914,
Sec. 1 (1).
Sec. 20 of the Education Act 1918 imposes a similar obligation in respect
to physically defective and epileptic children within the meaning of the
Elementary Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Act 1899.
The Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act 1893 imposes
on you the obligation for the education of all blind children over five years of
age and of all deaf children over seven years.
Please note that a grant is payable from the Board for the education of all
children from two years of age and upwards sent to special schools by Local
Education Authorities.
I cannot understand the age limit of seven. Indeed I think at a much
lower age, say three years, it would be well for these children and their future
that they should come under the care of experienced teachers. This especially
applies to educable mentally defective and deaf children.
THE EDUCATION ACT, 1918.
Sec. 39 empowers a Local Authority to undertake prosecution of parents or
guardians for neglect and cruelty to a child under Section 12 of the Children's
Act, 1908. This enables local authorities to dispense with any other effort to
punish neglectful parents for not cleansing verminous children, as Section 122
of the Act was found to be of no use, unless the authority had established a
cleansing station.
The Act extends medical inspection and treatment to schools other than
elementary. One would have imagined that the control of the one in our
district would have been left to the S.M.O. of the area, but the Middlesex
County Council thought fit to bring in a Medical Officer from outside. It
seemed logical and consistent to me that the same medical officer should
continue his medical supervision of a child during the whole of its school
career.