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The carrying out of physical education in bare feet is still a matter of controversy. At the moment
one of the school medical officers is carrying out a controlled survey in four schools in the Borough in
an attempt to decide the relative merits of bare feet versus gym shoes.
Handicapped Pupils
The Education Act 1944 places on local education authorities the duty of ascertaining handicapped
pupils in their areas and of providing special educational treatment for such children. Though it is the
duty of the local authority to ascertain these children from the age of two years, it is often desirable,
especially in the case of blind, deaf or cerebral palsied children, that the defect be discovered before
this age, so that steps may be taken to help the child to develop as normally as possible despite his
handicap.
The School Health Service and Handicapped Pupils Regulations 1959 defined the various categories
of handicapped pupils as follows:-
Blind Epileptic
Partially Sighted Maladjusted
Deaf Physically Handicapped
Partially Hearing Delicate
Educationally Subnormal Children suffering from speech defects
Pupils handicapped by severe blindness or deafness are normally educated in special schools.
Special educational treatment may be provided for other categories in an ordinary school with
special consideration appropriate to the disability. Where this is not appropriate arrangements are
made for handicapped children to attend day or residential special schools.
There are increasing numbers of handicapped children with more than one disability who do not
fal I clearly in one category. There is increasing need for facilities to assess the needs of these children
and to supply the appropriate education and treatment. An example is the physically handicapped deaf
child.
Home tuition may be arranged on a temporary or permanent basis for children unsuitable for education
at school.
The following table shows the number of pupils newly ascertained as handicapped, and newly
placed in special schools during the year, and the distribution of ascertained handicapped children on
18th January 1968:-
85