lO
STUDIES IN MENTAL INEFFICIENCY.
Occupation
Centres?The Present Position.
May, 1922, it will be remembered that the C.A.M.W. published a pamphlet the subject of Occupation Centres urging their extension and describing the position with regard to them as it was at that date. Since then, however, developments have been so rapid that some short review of the present situation together with a list of Centres revised up-to-date, seems needed, and it is the purpose of this article?pending the issue of another edition of the pamphlet?to supply In
on
that need. From the list enclosed as a supplement to this issue, it will be seen that at the moment of writing there are in existence 47 Centres and that one more is in 25 have paid supervisors, 15 have an attendance of process of being opened. between 12 and 20 children, and 14 are open every day in the week; 8 Voluntary Associations or Committees are responsible for more than one Centre each. To the Leeds Centre we would particularly call attention as being an experiment of great interest and as indicating a method of 'After-Care" which the next few years may well see extended to other areas and which should provide data of great value. \ It is also noteworthy that two or three Associations have been instrumental in establishing small Occupation Classes in their local Poor Law Institutions for defectives in the Guardians' care, a method of co-operation which we hope will in the future be widely practised.* In a Questionnaire recently circulated to form the basis of this article, we asked that any special difficulties which had been met with in running Occupation Centres might be noted. In response, the one that is most frequently referred to is that of "escort." Unless paid guides are employed it seems almost impossible for a Centre to touch an area wide enough to ensure a really good regular attendance and all the evidence acquired so far seems to point conclusively to the fact that this item of 'guides'' will have, in future, to be included in every estimate of expenditure which is drawn up. With regard to discipline, one Secretary alludes to the difficulty of dealing in a Centre with the "unstable" type of child for whom she feels residential care is essentially needed. Another reports that the feeble-minded children attending the Centre (owing to the lack of a Special School in the district) are found to be more difficult to control than the lowergrade children?a comment which bears out the contention we have persistently made as to the undesirability of looking upon Occupation Centres as being adequate substitutes for Special Schools. Otherwise, however, this question of discipline does not, contrary to some people's expectation, seem to have caused as a general rule any serious trouble. A point of interest mentioned by a Secretary who has opened in her area more than one Centre, is that the children attending the one held in the morning seem to progress more rapidly than those attending another held in the afternoon. '
'
?On this subject see article in our April number, " Mental Defectives under the Poor the Problem is dealt with at Ipswich." P. 36.
Law; How
STUDIES IN MENTAL INEFFICIENCY.
ll
The good effects of Centre training are almost universally put on record, and that Centres are "worth while" is now, we think, established beyond dispute. The services of Miss Wingate, our Centre Organiser, have been and continue to be in steady demand, and she has already visited some six or seven areas either to start new Centres or to help in the consolidating of those already existing. The Agnes Western Centre in Finsbury continues to be avilable for the training of prospective Supervisors who are free to come to London, and several students have already taken advantage of the opportunities which it offers. The Centre is under the auspices of the C.A.M.W. working through a local Committee in close co-operation with the London Association, and its training department is in charge of Mrs. Anderson (Case Secretary of the C.A.M.W.) who has had many years' experience as a teacher in Special Schools. Every effort is made by the staff to introduce all the most recent developments which can be suitably adapted to the methods of training possible in a Centre, and students and visitors are always cordially welcomed, The necessity of having a trained Supervisor, if really effective work is to be done is, we are glad to note, emphasised by the Board of Control in a recent Circular, and any expense connected with the provision of such training they are prepared to take into account for the purposes of grant. That the Board of Control are wholeheartedly in favour of Occupation Centres is borne witness to in this same Circular issued recently to County and County Borough Councils. It draws the attention of Local Authorities to the value of Centres as providing a method of making Supervision more effective, and announces the repeal of Article 15 of the Provisional Regulations under the Mental Deficiency Act which, by specifying that Supervision is to be carried out by means of "inspection and visitation" might be interpreted as prohibiting the support of Centres under this heading and thus making the giving of a grant for the purpose as ultra vires. This possible obstacle is now, however, withdrawn and the Board definitely state that they expect that a certain proportion of the expenses of Centres run by Voluntary Associations shall be refunded by Local Authorities in addition to any grants paid direct by the Board to Centre Committees. It also empowers Local Authorities, "in exceptional circumstances," to start and maintain Centres themselves. With Occupation Centres established as part of the work of Supervision, their future may be said to be assured, and now that the uncertainties and difficulties of the experimental phase of their development have been successfully overcome, we feel confident in giving the assurance that we are on the threshold of a period ?f and steady progress expansion.
Supplement
to "Studies in Mental
Inefficiency, "July,
LTST Association
or
Authority Responsible
BATH VOLUNTARY CIATION.
CENTRAL ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL WELFARE. (Agnes Western Centre). Finsbury, E.C. CROYDON M.D. COMMITTEE
ASSO-
IPSWICH VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION.
LANCS.,
TARY
1923.
OCCUPATION No. of Days open.
opened.
CENTRES*
{July, 1923). Aver. Attend.
Staff.
Remarks.
ASSO-
BRISTOL VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION
ESSEX VOLUNTARY CIATION. East Ham
Date
OF
1920
2 afternoons
March 1923
2 afternoons
October 1922
5 afternoons
(a) November 1921 (b) March 1922 (c) May 1922
1 afternoon. 1 afternoon. 1 2 afternoons
Secretary of Voluntary tion. Paid Supervisor. One teacher for dancing.
Associa-
For Girls
visiting
For
Supervisor, with Voluntary help, including medical gymnast once a week. Voluntary Handicraft Teachers.
For Girls over 16. For Boys over 16. For "Excluded" Children. Further ments under consideration.
Do.
Voluntary Teacher
j
3 afternoons
Paid
May 1920
I 5 mornings.
Paid
Supervisor
Supervisor. tary help.
Some Volun-
16.
Used also as a training centre for Students. Paid "Guides" employed.
Paid
January 1920
over
ex-special School children.
develop-
9
Scheme for further Centres has been drawn up.
12
Paid "Guides" employed. The Supervisor is shared by the local Poor Law Institution where she takes classes in the afternoons.
CENTRAL, VOLUNASSOCIATION.
Blackburn
(c) February 1923
1 afternoon.
Voluntary
February 1923
1
afternoon.
Secretary of Association.
November 1921
1
September
Burnley
Lancaster LANCS., WEST, VOLUNTARY
!
afternoon.
1921
afternoon.
For Girls For Girls
Voluntary Workers. Secretary of Association, with voluntary help. Voluntary Workers.
1
Preston
LANCS., NORTH, VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION. Barrow
1 afternoon. 2 afternoons
(?) March 1921 (?) August 1921
For boys only. Run by members of "Toe H." Held in Poor Law Institution?all grades of children. For girls Held in Poor Law Institution.
Workers.
Secretary of Association voluntary help.
,
only?all grades. Proposal under consideration for providing "Guides" and increasing number of days
with
open. 1921
2 afternoons
do.
ASSOCIATION.
Liverpool
(a) March 1920
2 afternoons
Paid
Supervisor, with voluntary help. Also paid pianist once
week. Paid Supervisor a
St. Helen's
only. only.
(fc) 20th June 1923
2
13th Juno 1923
2 afternoons
mornings
?For children excluded from school unless otherwise stated.
Paid
Supervisor
12
'
'Guide'' employed for one case. older defectives. attended by in Settlement. To be opened 5 mornings shortly do.
Chiefly Held
Association
or
Date of
Authority Responsible.
S.E. VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION. Manchester
No. of day open.
opening.
Av. Attend.
Staff.
Remarks.
LANCS.,
Salford LEEDS
VOLUNTARY
(a) May 1922
STUDIES IN MENTAL INEFFICIENCY.
Occupation
Centres?The Present Position.
May, 1922, it will be remembered that the C.A.M.W. published a pamphlet the subject of Occupation Centres urging their extension and describing the position with regard to them as it was at that date. Since then, however, developments have been so rapid that some short review of the present situation together with a list of Centres revised up-to-date, seems needed, and it is the purpose of this article?pending the issue of another edition of the pamphlet?to supply In
on
that need. From the list enclosed as a supplement to this issue, it will be seen that at the moment of writing there are in existence 47 Centres and that one more is in 25 have paid supervisors, 15 have an attendance of process of being opened. between 12 and 20 children, and 14 are open every day in the week; 8 Voluntary Associations or Committees are responsible for more than one Centre each. To the Leeds Centre we would particularly call attention as being an experiment of great interest and as indicating a method of 'After-Care" which the next few years may well see extended to other areas and which should provide data of great value. \ It is also noteworthy that two or three Associations have been instrumental in establishing small Occupation Classes in their local Poor Law Institutions for defectives in the Guardians' care, a method of co-operation which we hope will in the future be widely practised.* In a Questionnaire recently circulated to form the basis of this article, we asked that any special difficulties which had been met with in running Occupation Centres might be noted. In response, the one that is most frequently referred to is that of "escort." Unless paid guides are employed it seems almost impossible for a Centre to touch an area wide enough to ensure a really good regular attendance and all the evidence acquired so far seems to point conclusively to the fact that this item of 'guides'' will have, in future, to be included in every estimate of expenditure which is drawn up. With regard to discipline, one Secretary alludes to the difficulty of dealing in a Centre with the "unstable" type of child for whom she feels residential care is essentially needed. Another reports that the feeble-minded children attending the Centre (owing to the lack of a Special School in the district) are found to be more difficult to control than the lowergrade children?a comment which bears out the contention we have persistently made as to the undesirability of looking upon Occupation Centres as being adequate substitutes for Special Schools. Otherwise, however, this question of discipline does not, contrary to some people's expectation, seem to have caused as a general rule any serious trouble. A point of interest mentioned by a Secretary who has opened in her area more than one Centre, is that the children attending the one held in the morning seem to progress more rapidly than those attending another held in the afternoon. '
'
?On this subject see article in our April number, " Mental Defectives under the Poor the Problem is dealt with at Ipswich." P. 36.
Law; How
STUDIES IN MENTAL INEFFICIENCY.
ll
The good effects of Centre training are almost universally put on record, and that Centres are "worth while" is now, we think, established beyond dispute. The services of Miss Wingate, our Centre Organiser, have been and continue to be in steady demand, and she has already visited some six or seven areas either to start new Centres or to help in the consolidating of those already existing. The Agnes Western Centre in Finsbury continues to be avilable for the training of prospective Supervisors who are free to come to London, and several students have already taken advantage of the opportunities which it offers. The Centre is under the auspices of the C.A.M.W. working through a local Committee in close co-operation with the London Association, and its training department is in charge of Mrs. Anderson (Case Secretary of the C.A.M.W.) who has had many years' experience as a teacher in Special Schools. Every effort is made by the staff to introduce all the most recent developments which can be suitably adapted to the methods of training possible in a Centre, and students and visitors are always cordially welcomed, The necessity of having a trained Supervisor, if really effective work is to be done is, we are glad to note, emphasised by the Board of Control in a recent Circular, and any expense connected with the provision of such training they are prepared to take into account for the purposes of grant. That the Board of Control are wholeheartedly in favour of Occupation Centres is borne witness to in this same Circular issued recently to County and County Borough Councils. It draws the attention of Local Authorities to the value of Centres as providing a method of making Supervision more effective, and announces the repeal of Article 15 of the Provisional Regulations under the Mental Deficiency Act which, by specifying that Supervision is to be carried out by means of "inspection and visitation" might be interpreted as prohibiting the support of Centres under this heading and thus making the giving of a grant for the purpose as ultra vires. This possible obstacle is now, however, withdrawn and the Board definitely state that they expect that a certain proportion of the expenses of Centres run by Voluntary Associations shall be refunded by Local Authorities in addition to any grants paid direct by the Board to Centre Committees. It also empowers Local Authorities, "in exceptional circumstances," to start and maintain Centres themselves. With Occupation Centres established as part of the work of Supervision, their future may be said to be assured, and now that the uncertainties and difficulties of the experimental phase of their development have been successfully overcome, we feel confident in giving the assurance that we are on the threshold of a period ?f and steady progress expansion.
Supplement
to "Studies in Mental
Inefficiency, "July,
LTST Association
or
Authority Responsible
BATH VOLUNTARY CIATION.
CENTRAL ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL WELFARE. (Agnes Western Centre). Finsbury, E.C. CROYDON M.D. COMMITTEE
ASSO-
IPSWICH VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION.
LANCS.,
TARY
1923.
OCCUPATION No. of Days open.
opened.
CENTRES*
{July, 1923). Aver. Attend.
Staff.
Remarks.
ASSO-
BRISTOL VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION
ESSEX VOLUNTARY CIATION. East Ham
Date
OF
1920
2 afternoons
March 1923
2 afternoons
October 1922
5 afternoons
(a) November 1921 (b) March 1922 (c) May 1922
1 afternoon. 1 afternoon. 1 2 afternoons
Secretary of Voluntary tion. Paid Supervisor. One teacher for dancing.
Associa-
For Girls
visiting
For
Supervisor, with Voluntary help, including medical gymnast once a week. Voluntary Handicraft Teachers.
For Girls over 16. For Boys over 16. For "Excluded" Children. Further ments under consideration.
Do.
Voluntary Teacher
j
3 afternoons
Paid
May 1920
I 5 mornings.
Paid
Supervisor
Supervisor. tary help.
Some Volun-
16.
Used also as a training centre for Students. Paid "Guides" employed.
Paid
January 1920
over
ex-special School children.
develop-
9
Scheme for further Centres has been drawn up.
12
Paid "Guides" employed. The Supervisor is shared by the local Poor Law Institution where she takes classes in the afternoons.
CENTRAL, VOLUNASSOCIATION.
Blackburn
(c) February 1923
1 afternoon.
Voluntary
February 1923
1
afternoon.
Secretary of Association.
November 1921
1
September
Burnley
Lancaster LANCS., WEST, VOLUNTARY
!
afternoon.
1921
afternoon.
For Girls For Girls
Voluntary Workers. Secretary of Association, with voluntary help. Voluntary Workers.
1
Preston
LANCS., NORTH, VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION. Barrow
1 afternoon. 2 afternoons
(?) March 1921 (?) August 1921
For boys only. Run by members of "Toe H." Held in Poor Law Institution?all grades of children. For girls Held in Poor Law Institution.
Workers.
Secretary of Association voluntary help.
,
only?all grades. Proposal under consideration for providing "Guides" and increasing number of days
with
open. 1921
2 afternoons
do.
ASSOCIATION.
Liverpool
(a) March 1920
2 afternoons
Paid
Supervisor, with voluntary help. Also paid pianist once
week. Paid Supervisor a
St. Helen's
only. only.
(fc) 20th June 1923
2
13th Juno 1923
2 afternoons
mornings
?For children excluded from school unless otherwise stated.
Paid
Supervisor
12
'
'Guide'' employed for one case. older defectives. attended by in Settlement. To be opened 5 mornings shortly do.
Chiefly Held
Association
or
Date of
Authority Responsible.
S.E. VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION. Manchester
No. of day open.
opening.
Av. Attend.
Staff.
Remarks.
LANCS.,
Salford LEEDS
VOLUNTARY
(a) May 1922
