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number of children attending Public Elementary Schools as
delicate in Table III. is, in effect, asking his Authority to
provide an Open-air School for delicate children. If he
believes, as I do, that there are other methods, more effective
and less expensive, of tackling this problem his duty is to make
a nil return of delicates. This is the course I have adopted.
Ascertainment of Defectives.
Efforts to secure complete ascertainment of all exceptional
children have been made throughout the year. In this
work I have to acknowledge the help of the Head Teachers,
Attendance Officers, School Nurses, Tuberculosis Officer and
voluntary Social Workers.
Summary of the position in regard to Exceptional, Children.
Blind.—There is only one totally blind child —a girl age
7 years—who is being educated at the Royal Normal College for
the Blind at Upper Norwood.
Partially Blind.—Seven children (4 boys and 3 girls) are
attending the Myopic Centre at Wood Green. All of them are
suffering from defects of vision of such a degree as to render them
unfit for the ordinary elementary school methods of education.
Deaf and Partially Deaf.—There are 10 children (6 boys
and 4 girls) attending the Day School for Deaf Children at
Tottenham.
Mentally Defective.
Twenty-nine Hornsey children (18 boys and 11 girls) attend
the Joint Special Day School for Mentally Defective Children at
Oak Lane, Finchley (Oak Lodge School). Ascertainment of
these children is part of the routine work during every year.
When a child in school presents special educational difficulties
the question of mental deficiency is raised by the Head Teacher,
who reports on a special form to the Secretary for Education.
This report is passed to the School Medical Officer, who examines
the child at school with the Head Teacher. The result of a
careful consideration of all the evidence available may be that
the child (a) remains at the elementary school, or (b) is certified
as an educable feeble-minded child and is transferred to the
Special School, or (c) is certified as an uneducable mentally