§ 41. Mr. ROBERT MORRISONasked the President of the Board of Education how many mentally-defective children from London County Council special schools have been returned to elementary schools during the past 12 months; and whether they had been sent to special schools by mistake, or for what reason have they now been returned to elementary schools?
Mr. WOODI am informed that out of about 7,000 mentally defective children on the books of special schools in the area of the local education authority for London, 66 were returned to public elementary schools in 1922. It is the practice of all the persons concerned to keep a careful watch over the progress of children in special schools for mentally defective children and 'to restore to the ordinary public elementary school every child to whom it would be beneficial to pursue his education in normal surroundings. Such restoration does not warrant any inference that an initial mistake was made.