[Report 1964] / School Medical Officer of Health, North Riding of Yorkshire County Council, Scarborough Divisional Executive.

  • North Riding of Yorkshire (England). County Council (Scarborough Divisional Executive)
Date:
1964
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1964] / School Medical Officer of Health, North Riding of Yorkshire County Council, Scarborough Divisional Executive. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/28 (page 13)
    Dr. Cameron reports as follows:— During the year a number of children were assessed following consistent failure at school in one or more subjects, especially reading. Backwardness in reading is a very complex problem, varying from primary dyslexia to simpler causes, including failure to get adequate educational opportunities. Whether this is due to innate dullness, prolonged illness, irregular attendance, frequent changes of school, or personality difficulties, close co-operation between the School Medical Officers, the teachers and Child Guidance Clinic will reveal these children in the early stages of their difficulties. Early diagnosis, and vigorous individual help according to needs and ability are most desirable, especially in the primary depart¬ ment, before the child develops a sense of frustration and is resigned to sitting at the back of the class giving no trouble but gaining nothing. However zealous, a teacher with the usual large class cannot give enough help, and adequate remedial teaching seems urgently necessary in the junior school if these children are to take their rightful place in due course in a highly literate society. 12. SECTION 57, EDUCATION ACT 1944 No child was reported under Section 57 of the Education Act 1944, as unsuitable for education at school, but 16 were reported as requiring care and guidance after leaving school. 13. SPEECH THERAPY The following report was made by the Speech Therapist on work carried out during the year ended 31st December, 1964. The situation remains unsatisfactory, due primarily to shortage of staff and lack of continuity in staffing. This results in therapy being intermittent, consequently there has been some reluctance on the part of family doctors and teachers to refer children, and an unwillingness by some parents to allow their children to commence treatment. The waiting list almost doubled during the year. The Speech Therapist has the moral responsibility of selecting for treatment those pupils whose need is most urgent, and is at times placed in an almost invidious position. It must be stressed, however, that urgent cases are dealt with as quickly as possible, and teachers should not be deterred from referring such children. Of those children discharged, 13% have left school with treatment incomplete. This, too, is a reflection of the situation, since one would not normally expect a proportion of more than 1%. During the year a group has been held at Childhaven Nursery School.