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40
Blind
One blind child was ascertained in 1969 and admitted to a residential
special school.
Partially Sighted
During the year four children were found to require special educational
treatment in this category, and all of them were admitted to St. Luke's
School. Some of the older children were able to integrate for part of the
school day with children in the adjacent Winterbourne Schools, and this
experiment was so successful in one case that the boy was finally discharged
to continue his education in an ordinary school. Traditionally,
special educational treatment has been provided only when it has been
shown that the child is failing in an ordinary school, and such a policy can
have very damaging effects upon the attitude of the handicapped child
towards education. For some years in Croydon the reverse policy has been
followed providing an early start to education in a special school with later
transfer to an ordinary school if progress is satisfactory. By this approach
the child has success to encourage further effort rather than failure that
skilled teachers must then do their best to overcome.
Two children with multiple handicaps in attendance at St. Luke's School
were reviewed during the year in anticipation of the need for continued
special educational treatment beyond the age of eleven years. In view of
their multiple handicaps applications were made for both children to be admitted
to residential special schools.
I am grateful to Miss J. Rundle for the following report of the work of
the School.
St. Luke's Special School for Partially Sighted Children
During 1969, as in previous years, every endeavour was made to help
the children gain as many new experiences as possible in spite of a very
limiting handicap. The children work along normal lines as far as they are
able, though their rate of progress is slower than that of normally sighted
children.
Various educational visits were made with the aim of widening the
children's experiences and of increasing their mobility. Most of the visits
were made by public transport so that the children had the opportunity of
using buses and trains thus helping them towards self-reliance and independence
later on. Among the places visited were The Commonwealth Institute,
a farm, Outwood Mill,The London Zoo and Brighton.
More than 50% of the children in the unit regularly attended the Swimming
Baths. Apart from the pleasure of going to the Baths and the satisfaction
of learning to swim it is hoped to improve the children's posture. Visually
handicapped children often become round-shouldered particularly as their
progress through school involves more and more close work. Several children
have gained Swimming Certificates.