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children aged 5 to 9 years fell from 3.5 in 1901—10 to 0.4
in 1957 with an even greater fall in the case of the older
children. Deaths from scarlet lever and diphtheria have become
a rarity; verminous conditions and malnutrition have
fallen to small proportions and children are taller, heavier,
better clothed and reach physical maturity earier than their
predecessors of 50 years ago. Improved standards of physical
health are no longer enougth and increasing attention is being
paid to emotional well-being and to the total health of the
schoolchild as an individual in society. In all this the School
Health Service has played its part and teachers and doctors
and many others have been engaged in a joint enterprise in
helping to produce sound, happy and adequate citizens of
the future.
Psychological difficulties appear to have increased but
whether this a true increase or whether we are, nowadays,
able to pay more attention to these conditions because of the
recession of much overt physical disease, is a matter of opinion.
Suffice it to say that a great deal of time and effort is
expended annually in dealing with these problems
and, in this connection, our thanks are due, not
only to the Teachers whose insight and co-operation
is of the first importance, but also to the Director
and Staff of the Crayford Child Guidance Clinic whose
specialist help is so readily available to us. At the end of
June, 1958, Dr. Zausmer resigned his appointment as Director
to take up an appointment in Cheshire and I wish to place
on record the great help which we received from him during
his term of office.
The needs of handicapped children (i.e. blind and partially-sighted
pupils, deaf and partially-deaf pupils, educationally
subnormal, epileptic, maladjusted and physically
handicapped pupils, pupils suffering from speech defects and
delicate pupils) take up a considerable amount of time and
recommendations have to be made in regard to any special
provisions which may be necessary for the care and education
of these children. They are supervised throughout their
school lives and, on leaving school, they may need to register
under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, 1944 and so
become entitled to further training and help in finding suitable
employement. In Circular 276, 1954, the Minister of
Education emphasised that "no handicapped pupil should
be sent to special school who can be satisfactorily educated
in an ordinary school "and this remains a cardinal rule of
practice in this area.
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