[Report 1948] / School Medical Officer of Health, Northumberland County Council.

  • Northumberland (England). County Council.
Date:
1948
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1948] / School Medical Officer of Health, Northumberland County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    20/48 (page 18)
    HANDICAPPED PUPILS. The ascertainment of handicapped children, in accordance with the Education Act, 1944, was continued as in 1947. Children are brought to the notice of the School Medical Officer by school teachers, health visitors and school attend¬ ance officers, and it is the duty of the School Medical Officer on receiving such intimation to arrange for the child to be medically examined and the cause of handicap ascertained, providing that the child has attained the age of two years. The categories of handicapped pupils as determined by the Minister of Education were fully described in the Annual Report for 1946 and remain unchanged. The Assistant School Medical Officers may examine these children in school, but more often the examinations are carried out at the child’s home since many are unable to attend an ordinary school. Handicapped pupils who require special educational treatment are, in the majority of cases, recommended for admission to Residential or Day Special Schools. It is to be regretted that the inadequacy of vacancies in this type of school still remains. The Assistant School Medical Officer’s interview with the parents at the time of the examination often raises the hope that the child will be placed in a Special School and the parents are naturally disappointed when it is found that the recom¬ mendations cannot be implemented. One of the results of this scarcity of vacancies is that many such children attend ordinary schools where they receive sympathetic treatment from the teaching staff, but this does not compensate for the better facilities provided at Special Schools. There are no Special Schools in this County, except the W. J. Sanderson Orthopaedic Hospital School to which children with ortho¬ paedic defects requiring in-patient treatment are admitted. The number of handicapped pupils maintained in Special Schools at some time during the year 1948 is given below :— Special School. Boys. Girls. W. J. Sanderson Orthopaedic Hospital School, Newcastle Northern Counties Institution for the Deaf 28 40 and Dumb, Newcastle 14 16 Royal Victoria School for the Blind, Newcastle St. John’s Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, 1 4 Boston Spa 1 2 Yorkshire School for the Blind, York 1 Carried forward 45 62