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HANDICAPPED PUPILS
It is the duty of the local authority to ascertain those children in its area who, having attained the age of
two years, may require special educational treatment. These children usually come to the attention of the School
Health Service through the Health Visitors, the Chief Education Officer, Parents and Hospitals.
The officially recognised types of handicaps are: - Blind, Partially sighted, Deaf, Partially Hearing, Physically
Handicapped, Delicate, Maladjusted, Educationally Sub-Normal, Epileptic, Speech Defects, Dyslectic, Autistic and
Blind-Deaf; no return is made at present for the last 3 categories to the Department of Education and Science.
Once a child has been ascertained as handicapped, surveillance is maintained and recommendations for
special educational treatment are forwarded to the Chief Education Officer for his consideration and action.
Special appointments are arranged for the Medical Officer to see these children, either at a Clinic or at the child's
home, depending usually on the degree or type of handicap. Before a recommendation is made the advice of the
various appropriate Hospital Consultants, with whom there is a very close liaison, is sought.
During the year 64 boys and 26 girls were assessed as needing special educational treatment at special
schools. Details of the various handicaps are included in Table Part I (New assessments and placements)
The Borough is fortunate in possessing four day special schools for educationally sub-normal pupils, and
a report on each of these schools will be found later in this Report. In addition classes for severely sub-normal
pupils have been provided in 4 schools-details of which are available in the report of the School Psychological
Service.
As anticipated building was started on the special school for handicapped children which is sited between
the two main blocks of Coopers School Chislehurst.
Obtaining the best possible arrangements for the education of the handicapped child require time and
patience, but the effort involved is fully justified by the results obtained. It should be stressed that the assessment
of a handicapped child does not consist merely in appraising the defects. The assets—what the child can do, the
total environment etc., must not be forgotten. Further, there is a new approach to this often purely clinical
examination, namely an attempt to see the child in the home and school environment because a handicap or defect
can have a different meaning to a Doctor, a Parent or a Child.
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