London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
At the end of the year special educational treatment was being provided for nearly 11,000 pupils, and the following table shows the main categories of handicap and numbers of pupils receiving full-time special educational treatment :
| Day special schools | Boarding special schools | Hospitals | Non-Council boarding schools, hostels, foster-homes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blind | _ | _ | 63 | |
| Partially sighted | 304 | — | — | 8 |
| Deaf and partially deaf | 297* | 34 | — | 86 |
| Physically handicapped | 1,088 | 72 | 359 | 61 |
| Delicate | 1,385 | 205 | — | 133 |
| Educationally sub-normal | 3,379 | 568 | — | 58 |
| Epileptic | — | — | — | 42 |
| Maladjusted | 38 | 233 | 56 | 289 |
* Includes 62 pupils in partially deaf units.
In addition, part-time special educational treatment at day special classes was provided
for 302 maladjusted pupils and 1,821 pupils with speech defects.
year the numbers or new formal ascertainments were as follows :
| Day | Boarding | |
|---|---|---|
| Blind | — | 13 |
| Partially sighted | 41 | — |
| Deaf and partially deaf | 50 | 7 |
| Delicate | 391 | 575* |
| E.S.N | 808 | 106 |
| Epileptic | — | 11 |
| Maladjusted | 107 | 205 |
| Physically handicapped | 235 | 9 |
| Speech defect | 1,037 | 511 |
| Dual defect | — | 53 |
* Including diabetic and E.S.N./Delicate.
† Including 30 pupils already E.S.N, and 17 already P.H.
The following table gives details of the numbers of children found to be no longer in need of special educational treatment during 1955 :
| Day | Boarding | |
|---|---|---|
| E.S.N | 126 | 12 |
| Physically handicapped | 116 | 6 |
| Partially sighted | 20 | — |
| Maladjusted | 124 | 16 |
| Deaf and partially deaf | 19 | 1 |
| Epileptic | — | 2 |
| Blind | — | 3 |
| Speech defect | 396 |
The above figures include children enabled to leave school at the age of 15 years on
the grounds that education in a special school is no longer necessary. Particulars of
children discharged from schools for the delicate are not shown as the need for this type
of special educational treatment is, as a rule, for comparatively short periods.
Educationally
sub-normal
children
Section 57 of the Education Act, 1944, deals with the examination and reporting to
the local health authority of children considered incapable of receiving education at
school, of children whom it is considered inexpedient to educate with other children and
of children needing supervision under the enactments relating to mental health after
leaving school.
Details of the numbers reported under this section are given below :