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would need to acquire such knowledge of skills and techniques as
are necessary to reach this group in a practical and effective
manner. To the Educational Psychologists, this transfer of responsibility
represents a major task of on-going observations,
careful studies and constant dialogues with the teaching staff and
the parents. The full impact of this transfer should be felt increasingly
in the forthcoming academic year.
As usual the basic work of the Service can best be described
under the three main categories of individual investigations,
group investigations and general advisory activities.
For the first time too, this year, the Service has been manned
by three Educational Psychologists. All officers are full time. At
present 1/5th of each officer's working time is spent at Hospital/
L.E.A. clinics and up to another 1/5th is spent in special schools/
classes/units. There remains at best 3/5ths of the full working
time to, (1) carry out basic duties within the ordinary sectors of
the local education authority and other institutions and departments
within the Borough; (2) conduct work with groups; and
(3) engage in advisory duties. As there is a limit to the size of
the individual case load any officer can effectively and continuously
deal with, it has been felt desirable, when the establishment
was increased, to develop preventive work. The best
approach seemed to be to expand both the work with groups and
the advisory activities in schools. This policy explains the apparent
lack of growth in the total number of children recorded in the
School Psychological Service this year. The gain, although not
yet obvious, is reflected in an equal lack of growth in the waiting
list. Despite the transfer of the severely subnormal and the
increase in the population, the size of the overall waiting list has
been kept constant.
Group Investigation
This year special educational provisions were increased.
There exists at present in the Borough four special infant units
for the handicapped in the 3-7 year group, at Alexandra Infants'
School, Crofton Infants' School and two at St. Paul's Wood Primary
School. There is one all-age school—Woodbrook—formerly
the day training centre. There are also five Infant Opportunity
Classes—at Churchfields Primary, Leesons Infants', Midfield
Primary, Raglan Infants' and St. Paul's Wood Primary schools—
three day ESN schools—Grovelands, Goddington and St. Nicholas—the
Cheyne Hospital School for physically and severely
handicapped children (primary age range), the Phoenix Cerebral
Palsy Centre at Farnborough Hospital, and the Hearing Impaired
Unit at Darrick Wood. There are also three voluntary and private
play groups for the handicapped in the Borough—the British Red
Cross Society at Beckenham, Willett Way in Petts Wood and St.