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(c) Deaf — pupils who have no hearing or whose hearing is so defective that they require education by methods
used by deaf pupils without naturally acquired speech or language.
(d) Partially hearing - pupils who have some naturally acquired speech and language but whose hearing is so
defective that they require for their education special arrangements or facilities though not necessarily all
the educational methods used for deaf pupils.
(e) Educationally subnormal — pupils who by reason of limited ability or other conditions resulting in
educational retardation require some specialised form of education wholly or partly in substitution for
the education normally given in ordinary schools.
(f) Epileptic — pupils who by reason of epilepsy cannot be educated under the normal regime of ordinary
schools without detriment to themselves or other pupils.
(g) Maladjusted — pupils who show evidence of emotional instability or psychological disturbance and require
special educational treatment in order to effect their personal, social or educational readjustment.
(h) Physically handicapped — pupils not suffering solely from a defect of sight or hearing who by reason of
disease or crippling defect cannot, without detriment to their health or educational development, be
satisfactorily educated under the normal regime of ordinary schools.
(i) Pupils suffering from speech defect — who on account of defect or lack of speech, not due to deafness,
require special educational treatment.
(j) Delicate — pupils not falling under any other category who by reason of impaired physical condition need a
change of environment or cannot without risk to their health or educational development be educated under
the normal regime of ordinary schools.
The ideal situation is to keep as many children as possible within the ordinary school system, even the severely
handicapped. Experiment is necessary, requiring close co-operation between the Education and Health
Departments. Two such trials are already under way in Haringey. The first involves the integration of a number
of pupils of secondary school age who were attending the Vale School for Physically Handicapped Children into
the William Forster Comprehensive School. A full report by the School Medical Officer appears under the section
"Medical Services at the Vale School" (Page 00).
The second experiment has been conducted as part of a research, under the auspices of the Institute of
Education (University of London) and the Ewing Foundation, into the education of deaf children in ordinary
schools. Six children attending the Partially-Hearing Unit of Blanche Nevile School were returned to an ordinary
school at the beginning of the Summer Term 1973 for an initial period of one year, with special arrangements to
support them and the teachers, in order that they might have the benefit of education alongside children with
normal hearing. The trial has been started on the understanding that any child who suffers from this arrangement
will immediately be returned to the Partially-Hearing Unit but any child who benefits by the change will remain
at the normal school and will not be deprived of special support even if it should be decided at some future date
that the project will not continue.
Pupils handicapped by severe blindness or deafness are normally educated in special schools.
Children with handicaps in other categories may attend ordinary schools with special consideration where
necessary. The vast majority of children with speech defects and most children suffering from epilepsy or
diabetes are able to be educated in ordinary schools.
Where appropriate arrangements cannot be made for handicapped children in ordinary schools, or where the
child fails to maintain reasonable progress, or is unhappy because of his disability, arrangements are made for
education in day or residential special schools.
As the number of children with more than one disability who do not fall clearly in one category is increasing,
there is special need for facilities to assess each child's total handicap and to provide the appropriate special
educational treatment.
Home tuition may be arranged on a temporary or permanent basis for children who are unfit for education at
school.
Children who are in hospital for prolonged periods are given help from the hospital school.
In the Appendix will be found a table, for which I am indebted to the Chief Education Officer, showing
the number of pupils newly ascertained as handicapped, and newly placed in special schools during the year; and
the distribution of ascertained handicapped children and the number awaiting placement on 25 January 1973.
Special School Provision
(a) Day Special Schools
The following are the day special schools in Haringey:—
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