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partially sighted children
At the end of December 1967, there were 15 partially sighted children placed at Partially Sighted
Day Schools in the Inner London Education Authority. 8 girls and 5 boys are attending John Aird School,
W.12, and 1 boy and 1 girl are at the New River School, N.16. 1 boy is still awaiting a vacancy and is at
the moment attending ordinary school.
deaf children
At the end of December 1967, 12 deaf children, 7 boys and 5 girls, were placed at Day Schools.
9 of these children attend the Heston School for the Deaf, 2 attend Blanche Nevile School, Tottenham and
1 attends Ackmar School in the Inner London Education Authority area.
There are close links with both Heston and Blanche Nevile Schools as the Consultant Otologist at
Neasden Audiology Unit supervises the children in both these schools.
There were 4 deaf children at Residential Schools, 1 girl at Mary Hare Grammar School at Newbury,
1 boy at Nutfield Priory, Redhill and a boy and a girl at the Royal School for the Deaf, Margate. At the
end of the year there were two boys under five diagnosed as deaf, one awaiting placement at Heston and the
other attending the Day Nursery.
partially hearing children
Many children who have a hearing handicap and wear a hearing aid manage in ordinary schools.
These children are seen regularly at Neasden Audiology Unit and are supervised in their schools and given
auditory training by Peripatetic Teachers for the Deaf.
At the end of 1967 there were 5 children in partially deaf units attached to ordinary schools in Hounslow
and Tottenham. 2 boys and 5 girls attend Blanche Nevile Partially Deaf School, Tottenham.
Only 3 children were placed in Residential Schools at the end of December, 1967. 1 boy at Rayners
School in Buckinghamshire has a dual handicap and 2 boys are placed at the Royal School for the Deaf,
Margate.
In the younger age group there were 6 children placed as handicapped children in Day Nurseries
and 2 boys not yet at school.
educationally sub-normal children
Woodfield Special Day School.
During the year Woodfield School has had a waiting list for admissions. At the end of the year
there were 120 boys and 76 girls in the school. There has been considerable pressure for places, particularly
in the secondary age group. Children in this group are mainly from overseas and provide serious learning
problems and not infrequently present behaviour difficulties as well. During the year it has become clear that
provisions for special education in the Borough is inadequate and that there are many children in need of
this type of education.
During the year 58 children were admitted to Woodfield and 36 children left. 22 of these were
school leavers at age 16, 3 children returned to ordinary school and the rest transferred to other schools.
The waiting list at the end of the year was 8. If all the children needing special education were ascertained
this figure would be very much larger.
Medical inspections are carried out every two weeks during term time and during the year there
were 83 children examined. The majority of these were routine examinations but included were children
specially referred by the staff or parents. For any further treatment or investigations referrals are made
to General Practitioners or to Consultants at Hospitals with the General Practitioners' permission. Children
are referred by the Local Authority to Eye, Dental, Orthopaedic, Ear, Nose and Throat and Audiology
Clinics and these provide an excellent service for the detection and treatment of defects.
A Speech Therapist attends weekly as there are quite a few children who need help with speech
defects.
Health Education is undertaken by the school nurse who has personal contacts with the children
and by the staff of the school.
B.C.G. vaccination against tuberculosis is offered to all 13-year-old children who need it.
It is hoped in the future to increase the provision of special education in the Borough, and this
will indeed be welcome as the problem of backwardness is very serious and should be dealt with as early
as possible.
Other Special Day and Residential Schools.
19 Brent children attend other Day Schools for Educationally Sub-Normal Children, at All Souls
Special School, Hillingdon, Carew Manor School in Surrey, Marjory Kinnon School in Feltham, Oak Lodge
School in East Finchley and Montfort House, Golders Green.
Fourteen Brent children are placed in Residential Special Schools. In Townhill Park, Southampton
for junior children, Swaylands School for senior boys in Kent and Wavendon House for senior girls in
Buckinghamshire.
We have some of our children placed in independent residential schools. At Allerton Priory
School in Liverpool, at Farmhill House School in Gloucestershire, at St. Joseph's Special School in Surrey,
at the Sheiling School at Bristol and in the Society of St. Bernadette in Surrey.
Difficulty is experienced in placing older children in Residential Schools.