London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Walthamstow 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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69
School for Mentally Defective Children.—Your Authority
provides a Special School with accommodation for 130 children.
The After-Care Committee does excellent work in watching the
interests of the children after leaving the school.
At the end of 1936, the classification, according to the latest available intelligence quotients, was as follows:—
| 1936. | 1935. | 1934. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Quotient 80 to 89 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| ,, ,, 70 to 79 | 8 | 11 | 22 |
| ,, ,, 60 to 69 | 28 | 29 | 20 |
| ,, ,, 50 to 59 | 16 | 10 | 12 |
| ,, ,, 40 to 49 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 30 to 39 | - | 1 | - |
| Not recently tested | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 59 | 61 | 67 |
The child with the intelligence quotient below 50 is being
given further trial before deciding on transfer to the Occupation
Centre.
A special visit is paid to the school at the end of every term,
and all cases considered to be ineducable by the Head Teacher are
carefully reviewed and, if necessary, excluded and notified to the
County Council for supervision.
The elimination of low grade children from the school will be
noted.
The following table shows the number of children who have either left or been excluded during the past six years, and includes those directlv notified to the Countv Council:—
| 1936. | 1935. | 1934. | 1933. | 1932. | 1931. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decertified | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Attaining the age of 16 years | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | — | — |
| Allowed to leave for employment | 8 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Notified to the County Council as— | ||||||
| Ineducable | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 | _ |
| Imbecile | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | — | 6 |
| Idiot | — | — | — | 2 | — | — |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 19 | 19 | 13 | 28 | 8 | 12 | |
Miss Purcell, the Head Mistress, reports that the school journeys
were successful, the older children going to Devon, and most of the
others to Canvey Island.
(vii) Child Guidance.—During the year the Board of Education
confirmed the scheme for the reference of children requiring
guidance to the London Child Guidance Clinic. The fee for initial