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DELICATE CHILDREN. These are children not falling under any other category of the
School Health Service and Handicapped Pupils Regulations, 1953, who by reason of impaired
physical condition, need a change of environment or cannot, without risk to their health
or educational development, be educated under the normal regime of ordinary schools.
Since 1925 most of our delicate children were sent to the West Ham Residential
Open Air School, Fyfield; some were sent, and still are, to convalescent homes approved
by the Ministry of Education for long-term cases. The usual types of children sent are
those suffering from asthma, bronchitis, debility, poor physical condition, anaemia and
chronic catarrh. In view of the improved condition of the children it was becoming more
and more difficult to find a sufficient number of children to keep the school anywhere
near full. Consequently the West Ham Residential Open Air School was closed on
7th September, 1956.
Children with chronic pulmonary conditions, such as "chronic bronchitis", asthma,
bronchie6tasis, have always presented a baffling problem to school medical officers. Such
children are most inconstant attendants at school and are frequent at the clinics. Children
with mild or infrequent attacks of asthma, which do not seriously effect their school
attendances, and whose physical condition is satisfactory, may very well be left in the
ordinary school. But there are cases where life in the open air school does benefit the
asthma sufferer's health, and at the same time enable him to get more education than he
otherwise would. There is no doubt that it is a beneficial procedure in certain cases to
send them to open air schools. Asthma children are usually quite bright and intelligent
and, in view of their physical handicap,should get as good an education as possible. These
cases usually require a long stay in the open air schools and this is the chief type of case
for which we shall have to make provision. Since the closing of Fyfield more use has been
made of other residential open air schools and convalescent homes providing schooling.
Figures relating to admissions to Fyfield and to convalescent homes during the year
will be found on pages 135-136 and 138-139.
The number of children "ascertained" as delicate during the year was 42, and their
disposal was as follows:-
Admitted to West Ham Residential Open Air School 37
Admitted to other residential open air schools 3
Refused to go away 2
130