Mentally Defective Children: On the presentation of the report the Special Schools Sub-committee Mr. Murray asked for information regarding the procedure in relation to the declaration that children were mentally defective. Mrs. Pinsent said that in 99 out of every 100 cases parents never objected to their children being treated as mentally defective. As a rule, the higher the mental condition of the parent the less disposition was there to object. There had been some trouble because the committee had to deal with the lowest cases in the town, but the trouble was decreasing, and at the present time the committee had parents asking it to take their children where they were not actually mentally defective. The children were always examined by the school doctor every six months. As to the provision of a residential colony, the Committee was holding its hand, pending the report of the Royal Commission.
Transcribed in whole or part from scanned originals: Presented with or without modified text and punctuation. For absolute accuracy refer to the original newspapers. Source: The British Newspaper Archive.
Referenced
GRO0245 Devonport: Ellen Frances Parker: 1866 – 1949