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(b) Residential Special Schools
The Borough's residential open-air school, Suntrap School, Hayling Island, Hampshire, accepts delicate and
physically handicapped children — boys of primary school age (5-11) and girls of all ages. The resident staff
includes a night nurse, and a medical practitioner attends twice a week and a dental officer once a week. The
number of children placed at Suntrap at the end of 1971 was 100 of whom 16 were Haringey children and 84
children from other Boroughs.
Blind children are educated in residential special schools. Children with other handicaps who require residential
education are placed in schools administered by other local authorities or independent bodies, apart from
children suffering from severe epilepsy who are placed in hospital special schools.
Hospital Classes
I am indebted to the Chief Education Officer for the following report:—
"Tuition for children who have been in-patients at the St. Ann's and Prince of Wales's General Hospitals
continued during 1971. Because of a fall in the number of school-age children admitted to the hospitals, one of
the two full-time teachers, who retired in December 1970, was replaced by a part-time teacher. Because of the
wide age-range of the children (5-15 years) most of the teaching is individual but occasionally it is possible to
teach in small groups. By close liaison the pupils follow as far as possible their own school curriculum subject to
consideration of the child's medical progress. The teachers are helped in their work by the full co-operation of the
hospital staff and the Haringey Library Service."
THE SCHOOL CLINIC
Medical Officer Sessions
Sessions staffed by school medical officers are held to deal with minor day-to-day medical problems, the followup
of defects found at periodic and other medical inspections and particular problems brought by parents.
School Clinic sessions also afford opportunity for special work to be carried out by school medical officers,
including weight watching and warts clinics. A medical examination is offered to all school children who are new
entrants to the country, including any child who has been out of the country for a year or more and has returned.
This provides an opportunity to have the childrens' immunisation and vaccination programmes brought into line
with other children in the Borough and also enables parents to meet the school doctor and discuss their child's
health with him. Under these arrangements 328 children were examined during the year.
Home Tuition
During the year 6 children received home tuition for varying periods under Section 56 of the Education Act 1944
because they were not well enough to attend school for a considerable period.
Day Nurseries — Admission of Handicapped Children
As in previous years, children in the following categories were admitted on a medical recommendation to the day
nurseries administered by the Social Services Department without charge to the parents, the cost being borne by
the Education Committee under Section 56 of the Education Act 1944, if the child was over two years old.
(i) Deaf, partially-hearing, partially-sighted, physically handicapped, maladjusted.
(ii) Mentally handicapped children under five years of age.
(iii) Children over one year old of deaf or deaf/mute mothers.
During 1971, 10 Haringey children were in attendance at day nurseries under these arrangements, and at the end
of the year 6 of these children were still in attendance.
Recuperative Holidays
During 1971 4 boys and 5 girls were recommended for recuperative holidays in order to assist their recovery after
illness, and 1 boy and 1 girl were placed in suitable homes for a period of two weeks in each case.
Plantar Warts
Weekly sessions continued to be held at Weston Park and Lordship Lane Clinics, to deal with Plantar warts, and
Dr. K. Shah reports as follows on the work at these clinics: —
"The wart clinics at Lordship Lane and Weston Park progressed satisfactorily during the past year. The figures
below show the number of sessions at both these clinics and the number of cases treated during 1970 and 1971".
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