Commentary on Sections Part 3: Miscellaneous Amendment of section 7: children and young persons for whose school education an education authority is not responsible
76.Paragraph 5(a) of the schedule to the Act amends section 7(3) of the 2004 Act to insert a new paragraph (aa) which allows a child aged 12 or over for whose school education the education authority is not responsible, and who the authority is satisfied has capacity and where it would not adversely impact their wellbeing, to request that an education authority establish whether the child has additional support needs or would require a co-ordinated support plan if the education authority were responsible for the child’s education.
77.Paragraph 5(b) of the schedule to the Act amends section 7(8) of the 2004 Act. The effect is that where an authority establishes under section 7 that a child has additional support needs, or would if the authority were responsible for their school education require a co-ordinated support plan, the authority is required under subsection (7) to provide a child that makes a request (referred to under section 7(3)(aa)) with information and advice. That information and advice would be on the additional support required by the child, if the authority is satisfied that the child has capacity to understand it and if it is not considered to have an adverse impact on the child’s wellbeing to receive the advice and information.
78.Paragraph 5(c) inserts new subsections (9) and (10) into section 7 of the 2004 Act to allow an education authority to request information and advice from the managers of an independent or grant-aided school for the purposes of assessing the child’s capacity where a request is made by a child under section 7(1).