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remarkable how his personality has improved. If he had lost this post because we
insisted he stay at school till he was 16 a great deal of harm would have been done to
him. He still does not wear his hearing aid which was one of the difficulties which
we had with him at school but this does not seem to handicap him in looking after the
cows.
Dr. Little, the psychiatrist from the Child Guidance Clinic and Miss Marshall and
any of the psychiatric social workers concerned in cases, visit the schools each term
and discuss with the staff any of the children showing signs of maladjustment. These
discussions are helpful to both sides, to the Child Guidance Clinic and to the school
staff and we hope they are helpful to the children and their families as well.
There has been an unusual number of recommendations this year for residential
schooling at the two special schools. These were made mainly on social grounds because
of different home circumstances or the loss of one parent making home care inefficient.
We are fortunate in being within reasonable distance of the boys' school at High View,
Chigwell and this does help us to place children whose parents would be reluctant to
see them go a long distance from home. The children can get home for weekends and it
is not too expensive for the parents to visit. We failed to get permission for one boy
to go to a residential school as his guardian would not agree, although the school staff
and the school medical officer considered that his home care was poor and that he was
treated without imagination or understanding. The boy solved the problem for himself
by running away and has now been placed away from the foster home and back with his
mother. He did not live in this area and this is one of the difficulties of schools
drawing children from a great distance, it is difficult to keep contact with their home
background.
It is pleasant to be able to report that, although the number of children to a
class in Harrow Green and Leyton Green still stands at the maximum permitted, namely
20, at last after many years of asking for help in the "nursery class" at Leyton Green,
a helper has been supplied and should make a great difference to the progress of the
children in this age group.
There are several children with unsatisfactory physique and poor home circumstances
in the special schools but it is not always easy to persuade them to go for convalescence.
However, some five children did go away from the two schools and greatly
benefited from the regular life fresh air and good food which they get in the convalescent
homes.
LEYTON, LEA BRIDGE MALADJUSTED SPECIAL SCHOOL
SPECIAL MEDICAL INSPECTIONS
Boys Girls
No. examined 12 4
Parents present 5 2
Unsatisfactory 4
DEFECTS FOUND -
1 Vision for treatment
1 Speech for treatment
2 cases of skin defects
2 cases for Orthopaedic Clinic
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