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49
Handicapped Pupils in Special Schools
During 1972 the overall school population continued to rise and at the end of December 1972 had
reached the figure of 44,974, which is an increase or 2.9% on the previous year's school population.
As would be expected this was also reflected in the rise in the numbers of children ascertained as
handicapped during the year.
At the end of 1972 there was a 5% increase in the total number of children ascertained as handicapped
pupils. There was however during the year an increase of 16% in the number of new pupils ascertained
as handicapped.
During 1972 a review of the future needs in special education was made. Two groups of children
were identified for whom additional facilities would be needed and these were for the maladjusted and for
the severely subnormal.
The increasing number of maladjusted children and their special educational requirements have been
reported in previous annual reports, but the urgent problems associated with the day placement within the
Borough for the primary age children were very apparent in 1972 and Vernon House, the special school for
these children, had a long waiting list.
Problems associated with the large number of maladjusted children both at residential schools and
awaiting placement again underlined the need for Brent to have a residential school of its own for maladjusted
children.
Tylney Hall is only able to cater for the very mildly maladjusted and is not suitable for the majority
of children recommended for residential placement by the psychiatrists at Kilburn and Kingsbury Child
Guidance Centres.
The other group of children requiring an extension of special schooling facilities are those suffering
from severe sub-normality. This was also reported in last year's annual report.
In the past many of these children have been placed in foster homes and hostels in different parts of
the country and in sub-normality hospitals.
The White Paper entitled "Better Services forthe Mentally Handicapped" makes it clear that in future
these children should be accommodated within their own community and attend local special schools. Only a
few children are in need of the nursing care available in hospitals.
Estimates based on pre-school children known to be likely to require special education in this group,
who are already on the Handicap Register, together with those in various parts of the country as mentioned
above and those in Leavesden Hospital who might be able to return to hostels in the community, suggested
that additional school places would be required in the next few years. Also Bainacraig Special Care Unit is in
temporary accommodation and will require rehousing. All these factors were taken into account and suggested
the need for a school, additional to Kingsbury Day Special School of some 100-120 pupils.
During the latter part of 1972 an exciting plan was outlined for the possible use of the St. Andrews
Hospital site at Dollis Hill for a complex consisting of a small hospital for 32 sub-normal children, a special
school for 120 pupils and a hostel for mentally handicapped children. The site would also contain a housing
section and a children's reception centre. This plan, if executed, could provide all the needs outlined in the
previous paragraph with exciting opportunities for collaboration between hospital, local authority and school
medical services.
This could give Brent parents and their children a most satisfactory service with a flexibility in
placement not easy to arrange now.
Another group of children for whom future plans have to be made are the senior partially hearing
pupils who are at the present moment of junior age in Kingsbury Green Partially Hearing Unit. When these
children reach senior age which will be within the next few years, many will still require a special class in
ordinary school, although some will be able to integrate for most of the time in ordinary secondary school
classes. Plans are being made to establish a special class for this group of children in a secondary school in the
Borough.
Annual Reviews of Handicapped Pupils
All children who attend special schools either day or residential outside Brent are seen for an annual
review by school doctors in Brent during the holidays. This has revealed defects of vision and hearing which
have developed and have not always been identified at their schools.
These defects and others found have been dealt with in the school clinics and referred either for
specialist opinion and treatment or to general practitioners as necessary.
Annual reviews of children attending schools for the maladjusted are arranged at the Child Guidance
Clinic with the Psychiatrist in charge of the child's case.
In this way a regular re-appraisal is made of the progress of all these children.