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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SPECIAL SCHOOLING
After special medical examinations recommendations may be made for pupils to attend
special schools which are more suitable for them than ordinary schools. During 1968 ten pupils
were recommended for day schools for the physically handicapped, three for boarding open-air
schools and ten for day schools for the delicate. Three children were recommended for home tuition.
237 (245) statutory examinations were carried out by special medical officers in this
borough, and vetted by a Principal Medical Officer, who decided whether pupils who appeared
backward should continue at their ordinary school, possibly with extra help in reading and
arithmetic etc, or whether they should be recommended for a special school for educationally
sub-normal children. If these children were just leaving school recommendations as to suitable
employment were made to the Youth Employment Officer or for special care after leaving school,
(i.e. attendance at a training centre, referral to the Principal Mental Health Social
Worker, etc).
During the year 103 children were recommended for day E.S.N, schools, 3 to boarding
E.S.N, schools and 79 to continue at ordinary schools. Children at E.S.N, schools were seen
regularly by a specially trained Medical Officer to ascertain whether they had improved
sufficiently to return to ordinary schools.
Advice was also given to the Youth Employment Officer as to suitable employment for
children leaving schools for the physically handicapped.
Arrangements were also made for some children living in or attending schools in this
borough to be examined at County Hall.
DAME ALICE OWEN'S SCHOOL
From the beginning of the Autumn term 1968 a Medical Officer and a school nurse were
provided for medical examinations at Dame Alice Owen's School. Hitherto the Board of Governors
had made their own arrangements for a doctor to undertake these, but this doctor retired at
the end of the summer term.
ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN WITH MORE THAN ONE HANDICAP IN NEED OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
The Burnham Committee decided that the salaries of head teachers of special schools and
members of graded posts for teachers should be determined by the types of handicap of the
children attending their schools, instead of by the type of handicap with which the school
was designed to deal.
Arrangements were therefore made for reports of children said to have another handicap
to be sent to the Medical Advisor, so that the decision could be made centrally as to whether
the child should be deemed to have that handicap.
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