View report page

School Health Service and Youth Employment Service
The employment of school children is regulated by law and Local Authorities may apply
restrictions by means of bye-laws. A child who is 13 years of age and not yet of school leaving age,
may be employed, in certain occupations, up to a maximum of 20 hours per week. A certificate must
be obtained stating that the school medical officer is satisfied that the work the child has to perform
will not interfere with his health or education. The medical officer must consider whether the work is
liable to induce undue or excessive fatigue, whether it is liable to induce some postural disability—
excessive weight carrying, working in a cramped attitude, etc., or whether it is liable to take up too
much of the child's leisure. If the child is on the handicapped pupils register stricter conditions must
be applied to be certain that the handicap is not exacerbated. All assessments are made in school
health clinics. Upon the issuing of the medical certificate, the child is given an employment card which
must be produced for inspection when required to do so by an authorised officer.
School Leavers and the Employment Medical Advisory Service
The Employment Medical Advisory Service Act 1972 empowers the Government to set up
an Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) which will study and give advice on medical
problems connected with employment. This Act comes into force on 1 st February, 1973. The arrangements
at present made between the school health service and the youth employment service depend
upon advice given to the local careers officer concerning any aspect of a young person's physical
health likely to impose limitations on him/her in relation to possible work situations. The limitations
are indicated on Form Y.9 or for a substantially handicapped young person, on Form Y.10. These
forms are sent to the local careers officer and indicate to the careers officer that certain occupations
would be unsuitable for the school leaver.
In employment subject only to the Factories Act 1961, young people had to be medically
examined by an appointed factory doctor within 14 days of starting work in a factory irrespective
of whether or where they had been employed previously; also an annual examination had to be
made whilst employed at the factory until the age of 18 years was reached. The appointed factory
doctor had discretionary power to approach the school health service for medical information about
a young person employed in a factory, but this was generally little used.
As from 1 st February, 1973, the new arrangements will cover the medical supervision of young
people entering any type of employment. The new arrangements relate to young people who have
some departure from normal health, which might affect their choice of employment, whatever sort of
job they had in mind.
This new system will be based on the school health service's knowledge of the health of pupils
and this will enable it to be selective. Only those young people so identified by the school health
service will be brought to the attention of the EMAS. The system will be flexible and largely non-statutory,
and to function properly, it will require close co-operation between the school health service,
the careers officer and the employment medical adviser. Co-operation with family doctors will often
be required also. Normally the careers officer will form the link between the school health service
and the employment medical adviser.
In the London Borough of Hillingdon medical information held by the school health service
applies to children attending maintained schools as no arrangement exists for examining children
in non-maintained schools. Medical examinations in maintained schools take place at the beginning
of the last school year, to give careers officers and employment medical advisers ample time to
advise the children who will enter employment for the first time. The school health service will send
a copy of Form Y.9 to the careers officer where the child's medical condition shows a departure from
normal health, to the employment medical adviser, and to the young persons general practitioner.
Normally the pupil, and his/her parents or legal guardians will be told in general terms of any suggested
conditions that may affect his/her choice of employment. In difficult cases it is expected
that the school health service will consult with the employment medical adviser before Form Y.9
is completed, thus drawing on the employment medical adviser's knowledge of industrial conditions.
For a substantially handicapped young person the same procedure will be adopted using
Form Y.10. Since this form will contain medical details, the consent of the parent or guardian is
necessary before the form can be issued. A specialist careers officer appointed by the Authority
141