[Report 1957] / School Medical Officer of Health, South Shields County Borough.

  • South Shields (Durham, England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1957
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1957] / School Medical Officer of Health, South Shields County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    There was no increase in the overall total of handicapped children, but as it was possible for the medical staff to examine a larger number of pupils referred for ascertain¬ ment, there was a marked increase in the number found to be educationally sub-normal. This resulted in more children being transferred to St. Stephen’s Special School. In addition the names of 26 pupils were referred to the local health authority as ineducable, compared with 14 in 1956. Forty children (28 in 1956) were referred to the Child Guidance Clinic in Sunderland during the year and this increase reflects the greater use made of this facility by the Juvenile Court. All told, 23 children are now ascertained as maladjusted. I would draw your attention to the lack of comprehensive training and advisory facilities in the Region for pre-school children ascertained as deaf. This problem becomes more urgent as methods of ascertainment for very young children are increasingly used. Two events during the year had pronounced effects on the school absence rate. The first was a measles epidemic the peak of which occurred in February and which chiefly affected infant schools. In all, 1,150 school children were notified and no fatal cases occurred, the disease being characteristically mild. The control measures as far as the schools were concerned, aimed chiefly at the exclusion of children in the earliest stages of the illness. The second event was the epidemic of Asian type influ¬ enza which had an even more dramatic effect on the absence rate. During the week ending September 13th it was noticed that six schools had an absence rate from “colds’’ exceeding 10%. The incidence rose rapidly and two weeks later the peak of the epidemic was reached with an overall absence rate of 36%< for senior schools and 26% for junior schools; the maximum absence for infant schools was onlv 15% and rather oddly was not attained until two weeks after the other schools. In a few schools the absence rate was 50% or more and it was estimated that at least 5,000 school