[Report 1967] / School Medical Officer of Health, Blackburn County Borough.

  • Blackburn (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1967
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1967] / School Medical Officer of Health, Blackburn County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Educationally Subnormal Pupils. During the year, sixty-two children have been examined regarding their mental conditions, with results as follows : West East Recommended for Special Day Schools 43 .. 28 Recommended for Special Residential Schools.. 6 .. — Required no action 20 .. 16 Decision deferred 5 .. 4 Unsuitable for education at school 3 .. 1 Referred to Child Guidance Clinic 37 .. 5 Discharged from Special School — .. — Crossbill Special School I append the report of the Headmaster, Mr. A. Roberts, on the School’s activities during the year : During the year, 49 children were admitted and 44 left : 17 found employment, 14 left the district, and 12 were sent to Residential or other special forms of education. 158 children were on roll at the end of the year. This has been an unsettled year from the staffing point of view. Mr. F. Duerden retired in August after 38 years service in Blackburn, 13 years of which were spent as Head of the Special School at Four Lane’s End and later at Crossbill. Much of the success achieved at this school is due to his skill, patience and leadership. In September, the new Head- master (Mr. A. Roberts) took up his appointment, coming to Blackburn from a post as Deputy Head Teacher of Hare Law Special School, Co. Durham. There have been further changes of staff owing to promotion and other reasons. In a school such as this, staff changes are more upsetting since personal relationships are so vital for developing correct attitudes and progress. Great credit is due, therefore, to the staff in general, that the appointment of a new Headmaster and other staff changes have caused little degree of extra unsettledness. Apart from a high professional skill every member of staff shows an awareness of the difficult problems involved and a depth of understanding so necessary for promoting positive progress in all aspects of special education. Admissions Throughout the year the number of children awaiting admission increased. This was due to various factors, one being a shortage of staff. In a school of this type, bearing in mind the restricting effects of the building itself, it is impossible to make any progress whatsoever in classes larger than those advised by the Department of Education and Science, i.e., 20. The social, emotional and educational difficulties of children are such that the sheer physical strains imposed upon staff here are tremendous. Consequently admissions have been made only when these resulted in no extra burden for members of staff. It is hoped that very soon, with an extra staff appointment, the back-log of entrants may be reduced considerably.