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(d) Feeble-minded Children.— Feeble-minded children are
those whose mental defectiveness does not amount to imbecility,
yet is so pronounced that they are incapable of receiving proper
benefit from instruction in an ordinary school. The Authority
'responsible for the proper instruction of these children is the
Local Education Authority. There are 16 such cases under the
age of 16 years known to me, of whom seven are attending; an
ordinary school, three are in a residential school, and six are not
at school. Arrangements have been made during the past year,
with a view to adapting the Junior Mixed Department of the
Newbury Park School as a special school for such children, and
this no doubt will be in working order during the present year.
The Mentally Defective (Notification of Children) Regulations,
by which the School Medical Officer is the Certifying Officer, came
into force on the 1st April, 1914. A census was made of the
school children by the Attendance Officers in October, 1914, and
all children suspected of being mentally defective were examined
by the School Medical Officer. Since that date children suspected
of being mentally defective are referred to the School Medical
Officer, either by the Teachers, the School Attendance Officers, or,
occasionally, by the parents. Since the date of the above-mentioned
regulations a number of children have been examined. A
complete list is given below of those children who have been found
to be either—
(a) Mentally defective, but educable.
(b) Idiots or imbeciles.
together with information as to the present position of the
children concerned.
I have been in communication with Miss Neville, the Secretary
of the Essex Voluntary Association for the Care of the
Mentally Defective, and she has very kindly allowed me to
inspect the whole of the reports of the cases which are on the
books of her Association. It appears from these that there are a
number of mentally defective persons in Ilford who have reached
adult age and who are pursuing various occupations. I append a
list of these cases, as they are of considerable social interest.