[Report 1952] / School Medical Officer of Health, Denbighshire County Council.

  • Denbighshire (Wales). County Council. no2004062613.
Date:
1952
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1952] / School Medical Officer of Health, Denbighshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Educat’onally Sub-Normal. 'I'he attention of the School Health Service is drawn usually by teachers to pupils who fall to ])rogress satis- factorily at school. A full medical examination, together with an assessment of the child’s intelligence, is made by a Medi- cal Officer who has Ijeen specially approved by the Ministry ■of Education. Pupils presenting particularly difficult and com- ]dex problems are referred to the Child Guidance Team. During the year, 27 pupils were added to the education- ally sub-normal category needing education in a S]iecial School. In 1932, there were 19 pupils resident at Special Schools, four of whom had been admitted during the }ear. Twenty educationally sub-normal pupils were in attendance at the -\lexandra Special School, Wrexham, and one child was being taught at home. ,\s has been reported previously, there is insufficient provision for educationally sub-normal children either within or without the County, and in consec|uence, vacancies are exceedingly difficult to obtain. Serious consideration should be given to the provision of a special class at some of the bigger schools, but the first essential to such a move would be to find sufficient teachers with a sense of vocaticm for this specialised work. The Alexandra Special Day School in Wrexham has done much for its pupils, due mainly to the enthusiasm, patience and understanding of the headmistress and her assistant. The accommodation at this school is limited and does not permit ■of any expansion, which is regretted, as there is always a number awaiting admission. The Alexandra Special School can only accept children from Wrexham and its immediate environs, so pupils from the remainder of the County must be accommodated in the schools of other Local Educaticjn Authorities, except for a small number that can be admitted to a small Independent Residential School at Ruthin. In determinin.g the standard of intelligence of a W'elsh- S{)eaking child, whether bilingual or monoglot, allowance must be made for the 'anguage difficulty. Intelligence tests are, to some extent, verbal tests, and the Welsh child finds these rather confusin.g, so it is vital to assess accurately everv