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59
The social activities have continued on the traditional pattern,
e.g. excursion to the Zoo, Christmas time visits to the Circus and
the Pantomime and shopping expeditions in small groups.
The summer Garden Fete was a new and a very successful
venture when a most enjoyable afternoon was spent by grown-ups
and children alike. Apart from increasing the Amenities Fund of
the Centre by over £120, it brought into Scads Hill many visitors
not directly connected with it, thus the atmosphere of good neighbourliness
and social acceptance of the mentally subnormals by
the community was further reinforced.
In-Service Training
The departmental policy regarding the training of Mental
Welfare Officers discussed before, applies equally to the teaching
staff at the Centre. Every attempt was made to fill the new
vacancies with qualified staff, but the difficulties obtaining
nationally are not lessened by the unattractive and unsuitable
premises at Scads Hill. The appointment of one qualified teacher
was already mentioned. One Trainee Assistant Supervisor was
successful in her application for a place at the Two Year Course
leading to the Diploma for Teachers of the mentally handicapped,
at Bristol, starting in September, 1967, and the Council approved
her secondment.
Every opportunity was given for all the staff to attend relevant
National Conferences, Day release Courses and Lectures within
the Borough by professional workers. The total number of such
attendances in 1966 was 57, giving an average of 5.7 sessions per
teacher.
Combined In-Service Training Programme with Bexley
The figures above include a Two-Day Conference held at
Crayford Training Centre in the autumn of 1966. A second will
take place at Orpington Training Centre in the spring, 1967, as part
of the combined in-service training programme between the Borough
of Bexley and this Authority. This conference was acclaimed an
unqualified success. The sub-normality hospitals working with
both Boroughs expressed great interest in this form of training and
one of them (Darenth Park) has now offered to return the hospitality
by organising a further conference in the autumn of 1967.
Problems of Training Centre Placements
The shortage of Training Centre places, especially on the adult
side, was one of the major problems facing the Borough from its
inception and we wish to place on record the unfailing co-operation
afforded to us by the contiguous authorities, especially the Borough
of Bexley and the Kent County Council. Themselves short of Adult