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65
At the end of 1969 there were 30 pupils on roll in Vernon House and ten children in the Special
Infants Class. There were 13 children on the waiting list and during the year 14 children were admitted and
ten left. Of the ten leavers five returned to ordinary school at secondary age and three other children were
transferred to special schools for maladjusted. The other two children left the district.
Special Infants Class in Vernon House School
This class provides places for ten children of infant age who because of a variety of difficulties
which interfere with learning would find the ordinary class at primary school impossible to contend with.
At the end of 1969 there were 17 children awaiting a place in this class and when this group of children is
moved to the Manor School a second class is expectedto be established.
Regular reviews were made of the progress of the children in this special class and only after full
educational, psychological, and medical assessment were decisions reached about the children's future
schooling.
Regular medical examinations were carried out at both Vernon House and Barretts Green School
and the school nurses visited periodically.
Monthly case conferences were held at both schools with the staff of the school, the child guidance
team and the school doctor together with representatives from other departments involved in the children's
care.
physically handicapped children
Grove Park School
The delightful buildings and surroundings of this School have provided an ideal setting for the teaching
of handicapped children. The School throughout 1969 was full and there was a waiting list of children for
admission.
At the end of 1969, there were 123 children in the School, 76 of these Brent children. Lower Place
School and then Grove Park School have always accepted a certain number of children from adjacent
boroughs and at the end of 1969, there were 47 children from Barnet, Ealing and Harrow.
The School is an all-age school and most of the 22 new admissions during 1969, were in the
younger age group but there were a few more in the older age group this year, many of them immigrant
children.
It is always encouraging to report that children have returned to ordinary school and of the 30
children who left during the year, five were able to join ordinary classes, 16 left at school leaving age and
the remaining leavers either transferred to other special schools or moved to another area.
The pattern of disabilities in pupils attending has changed greatly in recent years. While there are
still some 34 children with cerebral palsy we now have few with defects resulting from infections such as
poliomyelitis, rheumatic heart disease, chronic chest and bone diseases and kidney disease. With the modern
advances in surgery more children survive who have congenital abnormalities and this in particular has affected
the children born with spina bifida and we had at the end of 1969, in Grove Park School, 14 children with
this abnormality, whereas ten years ago only one or two such children attended the school. Other congenital
abnormalities are in greater number in the School and usually these are multiple in nature.
As a result of this change, handicaps tend to be more extensive and multiple and this creates greater
problems for the teaching staff resulting in the need to reduce the size of classes. Whereas it was possible
to teach 20 children in one class, now this number must be reduced to enable each child to have the attention
required.
Associated with this change in the type of handicap seen in schools for the physically handicapped
has arisen the more serious problem of placement in work on leaving school. Changes have taken place in
industry leading to greater mechanisation and automation with the result that fewer jobs are available for
children with any handicap and particularly the physically handicapped child.
The solution to this problem can only be met at Government level with the production of a wellformulated
and planned national policy for the employment of the handicapped and most particularly the
young school leaver.
Plans were considered for the establishment of a nursery class at Grove Park and this is very
seriously needed. The type of child now being admitted to school, as previously mentioned, because of congenital
abnormalities has very often been immobilized since birth and has never had an opportunity of
experiencing the normal activities of ordinary children. If this child is not admitted until the age of five it
may well have missed some of the most valuable experiences of early childhood unless we can provide this
in a special nursery. The provision of this nursery is a priority in the care of the handicapped child.
Regular medical examinations were carried out at the School during 1969, and the children were
periodically assessed concerning their progress and the need for any further special treatment. Close liaison
was maintained with specialists in charge of the children at the various London hospitals. Vision and hearing
are regularly tested and a consultant opthalmologist visits the School twice a term.
The orthopaedic consultant attended the School several times a term and any corrective surgery required
was carried out at the Stanmore Orthopaedic Hospital.
The children from the two special classes with hearing handicaps and other partially hearing children
in the School were supervised at Neasden Audiology Unit by the consultant otologist.
Three full-time physiotherapists provided treatment in the large physiotherapy department and the
adjacent hydrotherapy pool. Children who were able also visited the swimming baths with the School.
The School Nurse who is in full-time attendance at the School is supported by welfare assistants
who help with the care of the children. This work can be very heavy as many of the children are seriously
handicapped and require considerable attention.