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35
DEAF AND PARTIALLY HEARING PUPILS
Deaf
Partially Hearing
In Residential Schools
In Day Schools and Units
12
5
3
31
During the year two children were found to be sufficiently deaf to require
special educational facilities by methods used for pupils who have
no naturally acquired speech or language, and a further six were found to
require admission to suitable units for the partially hearing. It is pleasing
to record the opening of the third unit for partially hearing pupils in Croydon
at the Kingsley Schools. The new unit is sited in the Infants' Department
and accommodates children of nursery school age (3 years - 5 years).
The opening of the new unit effectively solved the waiting list problem,
about which it has been necessary to comment in the two preceding reports,
and also allowed a rationalisation of the age grouping of partially hearing
children at Kingsley Infants' School. During the last five years the Education
Committee has opened three units for partially hearing pupils, and when
the fourth one (for secondary school children) is opened in 1968 a complete
service will have been provided within the Borough in a remarkably short
period of time.
It is important to emphasise that the nursery unit will also fill a diagnostic
role. Whilst it is now possible to detect children with significant
degrees of hearing loss before the age of three years, it is not always possible
to assess the degree of that loss or its impact upon the education of
the child. Thus both deaf and partially hearing pupils are admitted to the
nursery unit so that prolonged assessment by specialist teachers, medical
officers and consultant specialists is possible. It is pleasing therefore to
record the return to active participation in this work of Mr. H.M. Parsons,
the Corporation's Senior Consultant Adviser in hearing disorders. Both
teachers and parents have expressed pleasure at Mr. Parsons' return to
these duties since his advice has always been particularly helpful.
46 deaf or partially hearing pupils are at present placed in the following
special schools or units, and 14 of these pupils are of secondary
age
Day Pupils
Kingsley Partially Hearing Units
(a) Nursery Unit 10
(b) Infant Unit 8
(c) Junior Unit 4
Riverview Partially Hearing
Unit, Surrey 2
Residential Pupils
Royal School for the Deaf
Margate 4
Nutfield Priory School,
Surrey (Deaf) 3
Mary Hare Grammar School
(Deaf) 2
(continued over)