View report page

that individual children should come to classes for a greater proportion of their sessions;
in addition it was desired to provide for some children whose behaviour difficulties made it
necessary for them to be completely detached from their ordinary schools, though they
did not need to leave home for a boarding school.
Originally it was thought that the children would be attending local child guidance
clinics which would be responsible for psychiatric supervision. In fact some children were
not attending clinics and, in contrast to children attending the Council's own child guidance
units, there was little or no home visiting from non-Council clinics. It was therefore decided
in 1955 to attach a part-time psychiatric social worker to the school to undertake this
necessary work.
It was also found that some of the pupils who were not receiving clinic treatment raised
a problem which could only be solved by the teachers attempting the role of therapists,
to the detriment of their educational duties—a few children having to be given a disproportionate
amount of class time. A part-time psychotherapist was therefore appointed
to the school and she took up her duties at the beginning of 1959. At the same time the
frequency of psychiatrist's visits was increased, one a month, to one a week.
A second day school for the maladjusted was opened in 1956 and a third in 1958, but
so far the purely psychiatric services at these newer schools have not developed so
extensively.
(h) Boarding special schools—Boarding placement for maladjusted children has been the
practice for many years, with the Council making, and still continuing to make, considerable
use of voluntary and independent establishments, as the data in table (vii), page 153,
shows. The Council's first directly maintained boarding school, Bredinghurst, was opened
in 1948. Regular visits by a psychiatrist began early in 1949 and later that year a psychotherapist
was appointed, whilst a psychiatric social worker was added to the team in 1950.
Another boarding school was opened in 1950, two in 1951, one in 1953, two in 1954,
and an eighth in 1957; two of the schools are in the metropolitan area, and the other six
are all outside the county, in converted country houses with large grounds.
These schools are also hostels, in that pupils who make reasonable educational progress
go out to local day schools as a step towards their eventual 'complete personal, social and
educational readjustment'.
(i) Placing of maladjusted children in boarding establishments—In placing a maladjusted
child in a boarding school or home the following general points have to be taken into
account :
(i) age and sex.
(ii) level of intelligence and attainment.
(iii) type of maladjustment, e.g., whether aggressive, difficult and out of control or
withdrawn, inhibited and depressed.
(iv) social background, family relationships, whether parents (if any) will co-operate.
(v) religion.
(vi) problems in school (not always present).
(vii) whether psychiatric treatment is required.
The placing of each child is considered individually to ensure that the child is placed in
a school best suited to his or her needs. The Ministry of Education require that wherever
possible a child should be placed in a boarding special school or home approved by the
Ministry for the special educational treatment of maladjusted pupils. There are, however,
insufficient places available in establishments recognised by the Ministry, and considerable
use has to be made of independent schools and homes. For certain types of children,
such as the disturbed grammar school child and the pre-psychotic, placing in an independent
school may be more appropriate.
150