View report page

The reasons for the requests for special examination can be
summarised as follows :—
A. Problems at School :—
Backwardness in school work (particularly reading
and spelling) 125
Other school problems :—
(a) Educational advice —
(b) Fighting, truanting, pilfering, etc. —
(c) Apathy, speech defect, etc. 77
B. Problems at Home :—
Nightmares, pilfering, unruliness, enuresis, etc. 58
C. Probation Officer 3
The largest single educational problem is still that of reading
failure, especially amongst boys. The problem can be tackled
most hopefully with the youngest children in the Junior School,
and those schools which have paid particular attention to their
backward 7-year olds are finding that the effort made is well repaid
in the later stages of the Junior School. Those schools which have
adopted a simple standardised word reading test are finding the
regular testing of the backward children's progress to be both a
guide and an incentive to further effort. This emphasis on the
7-year old group is not intended to imply that special classes for
older backward children will not be necessary when staffing and
accommodation allows, but it should help to reduce the numbers
(still far too large) of boys with average or above average ability
reaching the secondary modern school still unable to read.
Large scale group testing has been carried out in several areas
by the Teachers and Psychologist working together. It has been
found that an objective measurement of ability obtained from a
group test of intelligence is of great assistance to the Secondary
Modern School which accepts children from several Junior Schools.
The Psychologist has spent a certain amount of time each
week in remedial teaching. Fifteen children were helped during