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75
CHILD GUIDANCE SERVICE
Prepared by Mr. C. Graham, B.Sc., Chief Educational Psychologist.
The numbers referred to the service and diagnosed and treated are much the same as previous
years. It would seem that with the personnel available, and the type of area, about 700 children are seen
for one reason or another by one of the psychologists during the year, and about 350 are referred to one
of the two Child Guidance Centres for a full diagnostic investigation, and about 200 are actually seen for
a psychiatric diagnostic consultation. About 175 children per year receive individual treatment (usually
once weekly) and about the same number received specialised help for reading difficulties in one of the
unattached classes.
At the end of the year there were 284 children on the waiting list for the psychologists, and this
compares with 228 at the end of 1966. There were 79 children awaiting a full team investigation at one
of the Child Guidance Centres at the end of the year and this compares with a waiting list of 56 at the end
of 1966.
Type of Referral.
The sources of referral, seen in Table 2, show much the same breakdown as previous years. Of
those referred to one of the Child Guidance Centres for psychiatric investigation, a quarter came from School
Medical Officers, and a quarter came from the Head Teachers via the educational psychologists.
The reasons for referral to the Child Guidance Centres, seen in Table 3, indicate a change from
last year. Behaviour disorders account for 52% of the referrals compared with 42% last year, whereas
nervous disorders account for 8% compared with 15% last year. The behaviour disorders usually indicate
extroverted "acting out" disturbance, and cause concern for teachers and parents, whereas the nervous disorders
usually indicate introversion and are not always regarded as problems by the schools. Many of
these behaviour problems result from social conditions and cannot always be helped by the intervention of
the Child Guidance Service. There are occasions when the schools refer a child for behaviour difficulty and
the Child Guidance team, although accepting that the child is difficult in school, do not consider the child
requires ascertainment as maladjusted or is likely to profit from psycho-therapy.
The reverse also applies. From Table 2 it will be seen that three-quarters of the referrals come other
than from the schools to the Child Guidance Centres. In these cases, with parental permission, the views of the
school staff on the child are asked for. Quite often the schools are surprised at the psychiatric referral and
the answer obtained is "we have many worse than this child". What is not always realised is that a child
can be no problem in school, in fact sometimes a model pupil, and yet certainly be a psychiatric case.
The reasons for referral to the educational psychologists in the Schools Psychological Service,
shown in Table 5, show a marked change from the 1966 figures. Because of the introduction of comprehensive
education in the Borough as from September, 1967 the use of educational psychologists in school
selection problems has greatly diminished. In 1966 there were 95 such cases and in 1967 only 37; this
is all to the good as it now allows more time for the educational psychologists to investigate learning and
behaviour problems in the schools.
Over half the children referred to the Schools Psychological Service were seen because of backwardness
and as can be seen from Table 6, nearly 40% of the children were recommended to attend special
schools or remedial reading classes.
All the Tables at the end of this Report pinpoint the fact that both problems of emotional
disturbance and backwardness are much more prevalent amongst boys than girls. About 60% of the Child
Guidance referrals were boys (we have found in previous years twice as many boys as girls are referred
though the proportion of boys was not quite as high this year). In the six unattached classes there were
twice as many boys as girls being helped and in Vernon House during the year four out of five of the
children were boys.
Provision of Special Schools and Classes.
During 1967 plans had been made to increase the provision for both educationally sub-normal and
maladjusted children.
In February Vernon House Special Educational Unit opened in Willesden Lane at the site of the
old Willesden Education Office. The Special Infants' Class was moved from the Stonebridge Infants' School
and three classes for maladjusted children, one Infant, one Junior and one Senior, were established. It was
hoped that these could function as unattached classes taking maladjusted children, but it soon became
apparent that the establishment of a school where the Head Teacher could deal with problems on the spot
when they arose was essential. As can be seen from Table 8 the size of these classes has been kept small. The
Senior Class consisting of seven boys was closed down in July as the Class Teacher resigned and a suitable
replacement could not be found.
Plans have been made for a Day Maladjusted Secondary Mixed School to be opened during 1968.
It is hoped to extend the provision for educationally sub-normal pupils. The establishment of a
Primary Mixed E.S.N. School in the near future is hoped for, after which Woodfield would deal with
Secondary E.S.N. pupils.
When the Primary E.S.N. School is established it would be advisable to transfer there the Special
Infants' Class from Vernon House and increase the provision for Special Infants to a further class.
Contacts with other Agencies.
School Medical Officers continue to attend a monthly conference at Kilburn, and Mental Welfare
Officers attend regular conferences at Kingsbury.