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where the parents themselves are inadequate.
Frequently they are those who have large families
and experience considerable economic difficulties
in their efforts for survival. To them, the concern
of their child's education is at the bottom of the
list of priorities unless he should get into trouble
with the law, and then they may be quick to
blame his lack of schooling as the cause. In
contrast there are other parents who appear to
provide every material need for their son or
daughter, but still will make no effort to help
them or understand their difficulties. Such
rejection by the parents can severely hinder any
efforts made by the school.
The teaching staff of any special school require
the support and advice of visiting 'experts'.
In an ESN school the most important member
of the ancillary team is the educational
psychologist for she is the one who diagnoses the
specific disabilities that affect the children and is
best qualified to suggest practical help, for
example where there are perceptual problems or
crossed lateralities. The medical officer in
addition to closely supervising the general health
of the children, can explain to the staff the
manifestations and symptoms of any chronic
conditions such as 'phenylpyruvic oligophrenia'
or 'dystrophia myotonica' to mention just two
dreadful-sounding syndromes! The doctor should
also keep in constant touch with other 'specialists'
who have an interest in the children. In addition
to hospital specialists these include the speech
therapist, physiotherapist, audiometrician,
peripatetic teachers, dentist and others who visit
the school to help the pupils. Liaison between
school and home is also instigated by the medical
officer who generally knows personally the health
visitors who visit the homes and can get firsthand
information from them about any particular
problems that arise. In some schools one social
worker specially appointed for this work can
cover the duties carried out by individual health
visitors and all the educational welfare workers
and so avoid duplication of work and replace it
with a unified approach. Also she can cover the
work at present done by children's officers and
probation officers, help to ensure co-operation,
and so increase efficiency and economy.
The welfare assistant or school nurse also holds
a very important position within the school and is
generally a trained nurse. She is the one who is
urgently summoned when an epileptic has a fit,
and it is she who is in charge of all the drugs
administered to the children during school hours.
Unlike her opposite number in ordinary schools
she is not occupied solely with grazed knees and
tummy-aches, but has to supervise any special
diets needed for the children and see that they do
receive them. She maintains close liaison with the
local school nurse and helps with routine medical
inspections, vision testing and dental visits. She
also needs to make time available for close
scrutiny of the children in various situations such
as physical activity, to notice any particular
difficulties. A quick screening for plantar warts is
often carried out by her at the swimming baths,
and any cases excluded for treatment.
Mention was made previously of the difficulties
that can arise in a special school for children with
multiple handicaps. For this reason it is necessary
to have frequent contacts between staff of the
various units for exchange of ideas. Meetings of
the children, however, are not practical, and when
it comes to games and sport it would be unfair to
ask them to compete with children attending
normal schools. For this reason it is very difficult
to arrange competitions or matches, for other
ESN schools are always sited a long distance
away. As a result the school as a community
suffers from some isolation, but attempts to
overcome this are made by arranging frequent
visits to places or items of interest. A recent
experiment has been tried with competitions
arranged with C and D streams of local schools
and the results appear promising. The younger
children also go to the zoo or agricultural shows
and the older ones to London and visit places of
employment like laundries, bakeries or small
manufacturing firms. The outings all help to
widen their horizons and increase their experience
in the outside world.
During the final two years at school the visits
form part of a pre-vocational scheme where the
pupils are introduced to new experiences similar
to those they will meet after leaving. Specific
aspects of working life such as time-keeping,
work cards, factory rules, are discussed and the
functions of employment exchanges in relation
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