Mental Health Act 1959

Section 11.

SECOND SCHEDULESections Substituted for Education Act, 1944, s. 57

“57Medical examination and classification of children unsuitable for education.

(1)It shall be the duty of every local education authority to ascertain what children in their area are suffering from a disability of mind of such a nature or to such an extent as to make them unsuitable for education at school; and for the purpose of fulfilling that duty any officer of a local education authority authorised in that behalf by the authority may by notice in writing served upon the parent of any child who has attained the age of two years require him to submit the child for examination by a medical officer of the authority.

(2)If a parent upon whom such a notice is served fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the requirements of the notice, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(3)Before any child is medically examined as aforesaid, the local education authority shall cause notice to be given to the parent of the time and place at which the examination will be held, and the parent shall be entitled to be present at the examination if he so desires.

(4)If, after considering the advice given with respect to any child by a medical officer in consequence of a medical examination under this section, and any reports or information which the local education authority are able to obtain from teachers or other persons with respect to the ability and aptitude of the child, the authority decide that the child is suffering from such a disability of mind as aforesaid, they shall (subject to subsection (5) of this section) cause the decision to be recorded and furnish to the local health authority a report of the decision, together with a copy of any written advice, report or information which was taken into account for the purposes of the decision.

(5)Before recording a decision under this section with respect to any child, the local education authority shall give to the parent of the child not less than twenty-one days' notice in writing of their intention to do so, and if within that period the parent refers. to the Minister of Education the question whether such a decision should be recorded, the decision shall not be recorded except by direction of that Minister.

(6)Any notice under subsection (5) of this section shall contain a statement of the functions of the local health authority with respect to the making of arrangements for the treatment, care or training of the child in the event of the decision being recorded, and, if known to the local education authority, a statement of the arrangements proposed to be made by the local health authority in the discharge of those functions.

57AReview of classification.

(1)Where a decision has been recorded under section fifty-seven of this Act in the case of a child—

(a)the parent of the child may, at any time (but not earlier than twelve months after the recording of the decision nor more often than once in any subsequent period of twelve months) by notice in writing request the local education authority to review the decision; and

(b)if at any time it appears to the local health authority, or to any authority or body responsible for the management of an institution in which the child is under care, that the decision ought to be reviewed, they shall give notice to that effect to the local education authority.

(2)Where any such notice is given to the local education authority, the local education authority shall cause to be served on the parent of the child the notice authorised by subsection (1) of section fifty-seven of this Act, and subsections (2) and (3) of that section shall apply accordingly ; and if they decide, after considering the advice given by the medical officer and any reports or information available to them with respect to the child (including, in the case of a notice under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, any reports or information from the authority or body by whom the notice is given) that the child is no longer unsuitable to receive education at school, they shall cancel the original decision.

(3)Where a decision recorded under section fifty-seven of this Act is reviewed under this section, the local education authority shall serve on the parent of the child a notice stating whether they have decided that the child is still unsuitable to receive education at school; and where the notice states that the authority have so decided—

(a)the parent may, before the expiration of the period of twenty-one days beginning with the day next following that on which the notice is served upon him, appeal to the Minister of Education against the decision of the authority ; and

(b)if that Minister is of opinion that the authority ought to have decided that the child is no longer unsuitable to receive education at school, he may direct the authority to cancel the original decision recorded with respect to the child.

(4)Any notice under subsection (1) of this section shall be given to the local education authority who would be responsible for the education of the child if the decision were cancelled; and where a decision recorded in respect of a child by one local education authority is cancelled under this section by a different local education authority, the authority by whom the decision is cancelled shall give notice to that effect to the authority by whom the decision was recorded.

57BSupplementary provisions as to classification.

(1)For the purposes of section fifty-seven of this Act a child for whom education is provided by one local education authority in the area of another local education authority shall be treated as if he were in the area of the first-mentioned authority; but any functions of the local education authority under that section may, in accordance with arrangements made between them, be performed on behalf of the first-mentioned authority by the other authority, and the reference in subsection (1) of that section to a medical or other officer of the authority shall be construed accordingly.

(2)If, after considering the advice given with respect to a child by a medical officer in consequence of a medical examination carried out under section thirty-four of this Act, the local education authority decide, not that the child requires special educational treatment, but that he is suffering from such a disability as is referred to in subsection (1) of section fifty-seven of this Act, the provisions of the said section fifty-seven shall apply as if the examination had been carried out and the decision made under that section.

(3)If, after considering the advice given with respect to a child by a medical officer in consequence of a medical examination carried out under section fifty-seven of this Act, or under the said section fifty-seven as applied by section fifty-seven A of this Act, and any such reports or information as are referred to in subsection (4) of the said section fifty-seven or subsection (2) of the said section fifty-seven A, the local education authority decide that the child is not suffering from such a disability as aforesaid, but that he requires special educational treatment, subsections (4) to (6) of the said section thirty-four shall apply as if the examination had been carried out and the decision made under that section.”