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Child Guidance Service
I am indebted to Dr. R. E. Brettle, M.A., D.Phil., Borough Education
Officer, Hornsey, for the following report on the work of the Child
Guidance Service in Hornsey.
At the beginning of the year, the staff of the Child Guidance Centre
had been increased by the addition of two remedial teachers (one fulltime
and one part-time) and, later in the year, a third teacher (full-time)
was employed. Against this, must be set the loss of Miss Stewart, the
psychotherapist, who, in six sessions per week, had carried out most of
the treatment recommended after psychiatric examination. Although
the post has been advertised twice, there have been no applications from
persons with the qualifications looked for. The lack of qualified psychotherapists
is being felt in areas other than Hornsey. Whilst the present
need is to use the limited psychiatric time we have to best advantage,
it is hoped that the present shortage will be only a temporary one.
The additions to the staff have made still more clear the inadequacy
of the accommodation. The Educational Psychologist, Psychiatric Social
Worker, and Clerical Assistant have rooms at the Town Hall, whilst the
psychiatric interviews and treatment take place in rooms at the Social
Centre which are hired for certain sessions. The remedial teachers have
no satisfactory base for their work. The efficiency of the Centre is reduced
by this geographical division; the hired accommodation is not suitable
for its purpose, and the accommodation at the Town Hall is extremely
cramped. Some thought is being given to this problem of accommodation.
The services provided by the Centre range from a more general advisory
service to the schools, to the investigation and treatment of children,
individually or in small groups.
1. More General Service
As will appear later, the facilities for individual work are limited—
and will always be so in relation to the needs. Great stress is therefore
laid on this more general service since it enables the Child Guidance
Centre to influence indirectly a larger number of children.
(a) Discussion with Head Teachers and staff of individual children
and of the psychological aspects of particular educational problems,
e.g., school organisation, the use of pupils' cumulative Records; provision
for retarded and backward pupils, behaviour difficulties.
(b) A course of lectures was held which was attended by teachers
from Hornsey and from the neighbouring boroughs.
(c) Surveys were continued of the "backward" readers at three age
levels—the first year junior group, the fourth year junior group, and the
school-leavers (15+) group. The results, shown in the following table,
indicate the good work which schools are doing for the backward
children. The results of earlier surveys are added for comparison.
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