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109
Special schools
There are eleven schools in Wandsworth providing special educational
treatment. Not all the pupils at these schools reside in
Wandsworth and some children who live in the Borough attend
special schools in other areas.

The importance of social training is emphasized at these special
schools. The scope of education has been broadened to stimulate
and maintain the children's interest in the daily activities of the
community and to prepare them to take their place as citizens
and find employment appropriate to their abilities when the time
comes for them to leave school.
During 1970, Oak Lodge School for deaf children had the assistance
of a social worker from the Health Department who has been
able to provide a very useful link between the school and the family.
In the autumn this service was extended to the Greenmead School
for physically handicapped children, Chartfield Open-Air School
and to the three partially-hearing units attached to ordinary schools.
Audiometry
Hearing loss may be detected not only by clinical examination
but also by the use of audiometers (machines which provide an
accurate assessment of the hearing defect—see Plate F—centre
pages). Routine audiometry forms part of the health examination
of school entrants, and pre-school children arc tested whenever
indicated. The tests are performed by three school nurses with
special experience in the use of the apparatus. An audiometry test
is employed as a preliminary measure in the investigation of
educational subnormality as a deaf child of normal intelligence may
sometimes give the impression of being educationally subnormal.
Audiometry is of particular value in investigating learning difficulties
which are sometimes found to be due to a relatively slight
degree of defective hearing.
The numbers of children given audiometer tests during 1970
are as follows :—
Pupils given screening tests 4,739
Pupils given pure-tone tests after failing screening tests 356
Pupils referred to otologist 388