Where
private enterprise
For three years a group of enlightened private citizens in Southampton have been running a playgroup for preschool children who are especially at risk. So useful has the project proved that it now has a long waiting list and most of the children are referred for admission to the group by people
professionally
concerned with child
welfare.
help
can
suffered in trying to cope, saw a way in which they could provide assistance. They decided to start and run a
play
group.
By any standard the enterprise has, after three years, been an unqualified success. The organisers and helpers have been able to observe the improvement in their young charges and have been greatly encouraged by this evidence of the usefulness of the project. Mothers, far from steering clear of what they might have regarded as an interference in their rights to be sole providers for their young children or as a reflection on their ability, have welcomed the idea and are queuing up to have their children admitted.
Since the group
was started it has taken in children from the over-aggressive and unmanageable to the withdrawn and uncommunicative, subnormal children and those with physical disability, thalidomide cases and those whose mothers just could not
ranging
In
shabby church hall in Dorset Street, Southampton, the Southampton and District Association for a
Mental Health has, for the past three years, been a substantial contribution to the present and future lives of many of the city's less fortunate under five-year-olds. This group of enlightened lay people, concerned at the inadequate help available to many small children with special difficulties, either personal or environmental, and aware of the strain that their often young, anxious and overburdened mothers
making
cope. In some
children are taken in as a diagnostic for example, was four-and-a-half when her GP referred her to the Southampton Children's Hospital because there were fears that she was autistic. Although at the age of four she was able to talk a little, she did not use speech communicatively and her loving parents, finding her remote and uncases
procedure. W.,
responsive, were worried about schooling. Although W. is evidently enjoying her visits to the group she
takes scant interest in the other children and tends
ss
"
4
A?
wide variety of toys and games is available to the children in Play-group. Here three little girls are making pastry patterns.
Photo
e
to attach herself to
a
particular helper.
It is
hoped,
however, that, during her time there, the source of her
difficulties
will become apparent and then appropriate be decided upon. Others, it is hoped, will gain self-confidence in the s?cial setting. N., who was aged three when he was referred to the play group by the School Medical was found to be partially deaf and to have a s%ht physical disability because his mother had been ?iven thalidomide during pregnancy. The boy had Undergone considerable medical and hospital care and ^as aware that he was handicapped. A period at the Play group, it was thought, would help to build up his self-confidence and his ability to make relationships with adults and other children before he faced School, and he is already beginning to assert himself
treatment
can
Officer,
the give-and-take of play. too, have been greatly encouraged to see ^eir often difficult children playing happily in the atmosphere and to have the opportunity of fussing their problems with the play group superand her assistants. he original idea came from Dr. Mary Capes, at hat time consultant psychiatrist to the Southampton hildren's Hospital, director of the Child Guidance linic and a member of the local mental health assoHer idea was that a play group would give Pre-school children specially at risk an opportunity at they might otherwise not have had to play in s ^ace and freedom with others of their own age and to
enjoy
pothers, ^jUrsery
ior
j"lation.
L
to
by John Brooke
find their social feet before entering the more
demanding world of school. Many young mothers coping alone would, she believed, welcome such an opportunity for their children and would benefit from having a few hours to themselves each week.
Dr. Capes and another worker from the Child GuidClinic were in touch with the organisers of the Save the Children Fund, and this body promised to finance the project if workers could be found to start it. It was felt that this was a suitable project for voluntary effort. The local mental health association appointed a small sub-committee of members to organise the project, to find the necessary helpers, suitable premises in which to hold the group and a car owner who would fetch and carry the children whose mothers could not, for various reasons, bring their children themselves. A supervisor, Mrs. D. Deacon, was appointed and one of the association's members obtained the use, free of charge, of the large church hall belonging to the United Congregational and Presbyterian Church. A car owner offered to provide the transport at a small mileage rate and Dr. Capes and the association were soon in a position to put the idea into effect. The play group now caters for about 20 children and meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for 2\ hours. There are plenty of toys and games to keep the children amused?painting equipment, construction games, a slide and see-saw, dolls, wheeled toys and toy cooking equipment. The children quickly beance
Where private enterprise
can
help
fond of particular occupations and it is a pleasure to see them make for their favourite toy when they arrive. At mid-morning there is lemonade
come
the house. Mrs. Deacon and her assistants, women with knowledge and experience of children's developmental needs, provide a friendly and safe framework in which the children can enjoy themselves. They keep a watchful eye on them, giving assistance when it is needed, tending to the children's needs, providing encouragement and, when over-exuberance tends to lead to tears, stepping in to calm things down. Tt is far from relaxing work, but it is rewarding as the association's report on the group for 1964 shows: 'Without seeing the group in action it is impossible to realise how exhausting and demanding the work is. The fact that the children know they will see the same welcoming faces at every session gives them the sense of security they need.' Since the play group was originally conceived as a voluntary enterprise, its usefulness has been recognised by the local authority's health department which, for the last two years, has been making an ex gratia grant towards its running costs. Furthermore, most of the children have been recommended for admission by people professionally concerned with children's welfare?the children's hospital staff, school medical officers, health visitors, teachers. Almost half the children admitted to the group in 1964 came through the C.G. clinic, which is conveniently situated a few hundred yards up the road from the church hall. The clinic's present director, Dr. Leslie Bartlet, who succeeded Dr. Capes, regularly visits the play group to see the children and discuss their progress with Mrs. Deacon and her assistants. Although the responsibility for the play group remains entirely in the hands of the Southampton and District Association for Mental Health, it has proved of such value to the psychiatrists and other staff at the clinic that it has almost become an extension of their service. A close link between the two is maintained by Miss Marion Opie, a psychiatric social worker who has been active among the families in the area for many years. Miss Opie, who is a member of the local association, is closely involved with the individual problems of children who have had treatment and
on
make these judgements at the play group than in the children's homes and, in fact, students in training have gained valuable experience at Dorset Street in observing pre-school children at play in a group situation. All those connected with the play group are working to help children to overcome difficulties which could cause future suffering to themselves and others, and to enable them to live happier and fuller social lives. The present progress of some of the children who have moved on after a period in the group provides
encouragement. There is D., now at the local infants' school. He was four when he was referred to the children's hospital by his GP because he was defiant and out of his mother's control. She, of a depressed and immature nature, had suffered from nervous symptoms for many years and had been ill when D. was a baby. When he was seen at the hospital, the little boy was aggressive, anxious and over-active, his mother worn out and unable to meet his need for love and stimula-
tion. On joining the play group, D. was defiant, egocentric and aggressive towards the other children, but he was fascinated by the play materials and made good use of them. Gradually he became less frustrated, his attitude to the other children improved and after six months he joined the infants' school where he quickly fitted in. By this time his parents were more relaxed and able to enjoy their very intelligent child. R. is now in a special class in a primary school. When she was referred to the play group by the clinic, at the age of five, she was a well-built, clumsy girl and she had been excluded from school on the grounds of subnormality. Her mother, exasperated because her daughter would not learn to speak and seemed un-
Elevenses at the play-group a social occasion and at the Elevenses play-group is a provides the children with opportunities to practice give and take. with further take. children further opportunities
who, subsequently, join the play group. Through observing the children at play and discussing them with the play group staff and the children's mothers she is able to report back to the clinic on the progress that is being made and on any difficulties that individual children are encountering. This enables the child psychiatrists at the clinic to assess the effectiveness of their treatment and to decide whether further treatment or other help are indicated. In cases of subnormality or where there ar; apparently constitutional difficulties or handicaps a period in the group helps in assessing whether special educational help may be needed. It is far easier to 44
Photo Photo
BroO* John BroO by by John
'
*
*
!.
r^i?L?** 9
a:
\
?' s,
'"Je to #o go home. The play-group's 'chauffeur' service enables ^""e to attend who would otherwise not be able to. 'o
"lQny nany children
of communication, was upset accepted for school. ut at the play group R. showed an immediate interest In the toys, investigating each in turn and obviously eHjoying the freedom to test and try them for herself the space to run and jump. Her vigorous activity llh a hammer toy indicated a need to express some ,
'^erested ^at she
Photo
by John Brooke.
to
in any
was
means
not
.
ottled-up feelings. ef six months the
little girl decided that comunication was rewarding, discovered that she could her own with adults and children, began to show Sense of humour and a desire to be helpful and she k ecame amenable to discipline. Her mother is, Rurally, immensely relieved that her daughter has
^old
to be educable. ^r?ved ch promising stories
strongly suggest
that these
children at Southampton, while suffering from special difficulties, are exceptionally fortunate in having an above-average chance of overcoming them. The Dorset Street Play Group has expanded the sum total of help that the community can offer its children and made more effective the official child welfare services. If more children and their parents are to receive this kind of help there is a need for more play groups, and there are those who believe that it should be the community's responsibility to provide them. Perhaps, in due course, local authorities will undertake this service. But, in the meantime, if the real needs of many of these more vulnerable children are to be adequately catered for in other parts of the country, it looks as though it must depend upon the enterprise of local associations or other voluntary groups. 45
private enterprise
For three years a group of enlightened private citizens in Southampton have been running a playgroup for preschool children who are especially at risk. So useful has the project proved that it now has a long waiting list and most of the children are referred for admission to the group by people
professionally
concerned with child
welfare.
help
can
suffered in trying to cope, saw a way in which they could provide assistance. They decided to start and run a
play
group.
By any standard the enterprise has, after three years, been an unqualified success. The organisers and helpers have been able to observe the improvement in their young charges and have been greatly encouraged by this evidence of the usefulness of the project. Mothers, far from steering clear of what they might have regarded as an interference in their rights to be sole providers for their young children or as a reflection on their ability, have welcomed the idea and are queuing up to have their children admitted.
Since the group
was started it has taken in children from the over-aggressive and unmanageable to the withdrawn and uncommunicative, subnormal children and those with physical disability, thalidomide cases and those whose mothers just could not
ranging
In
shabby church hall in Dorset Street, Southampton, the Southampton and District Association for a
Mental Health has, for the past three years, been a substantial contribution to the present and future lives of many of the city's less fortunate under five-year-olds. This group of enlightened lay people, concerned at the inadequate help available to many small children with special difficulties, either personal or environmental, and aware of the strain that their often young, anxious and overburdened mothers
making
cope. In some
children are taken in as a diagnostic for example, was four-and-a-half when her GP referred her to the Southampton Children's Hospital because there were fears that she was autistic. Although at the age of four she was able to talk a little, she did not use speech communicatively and her loving parents, finding her remote and uncases
procedure. W.,
responsive, were worried about schooling. Although W. is evidently enjoying her visits to the group she
takes scant interest in the other children and tends
ss
"
4
A?
wide variety of toys and games is available to the children in Play-group. Here three little girls are making pastry patterns.
Photo
e
to attach herself to
a
particular helper.
It is
hoped,
however, that, during her time there, the source of her
difficulties
will become apparent and then appropriate be decided upon. Others, it is hoped, will gain self-confidence in the s?cial setting. N., who was aged three when he was referred to the play group by the School Medical was found to be partially deaf and to have a s%ht physical disability because his mother had been ?iven thalidomide during pregnancy. The boy had Undergone considerable medical and hospital care and ^as aware that he was handicapped. A period at the Play group, it was thought, would help to build up his self-confidence and his ability to make relationships with adults and other children before he faced School, and he is already beginning to assert himself
treatment
can
Officer,
the give-and-take of play. too, have been greatly encouraged to see ^eir often difficult children playing happily in the atmosphere and to have the opportunity of fussing their problems with the play group superand her assistants. he original idea came from Dr. Mary Capes, at hat time consultant psychiatrist to the Southampton hildren's Hospital, director of the Child Guidance linic and a member of the local mental health assoHer idea was that a play group would give Pre-school children specially at risk an opportunity at they might otherwise not have had to play in s ^ace and freedom with others of their own age and to
enjoy
pothers, ^jUrsery
ior
j"lation.
L
to
by John Brooke
find their social feet before entering the more
demanding world of school. Many young mothers coping alone would, she believed, welcome such an opportunity for their children and would benefit from having a few hours to themselves each week.
Dr. Capes and another worker from the Child GuidClinic were in touch with the organisers of the Save the Children Fund, and this body promised to finance the project if workers could be found to start it. It was felt that this was a suitable project for voluntary effort. The local mental health association appointed a small sub-committee of members to organise the project, to find the necessary helpers, suitable premises in which to hold the group and a car owner who would fetch and carry the children whose mothers could not, for various reasons, bring their children themselves. A supervisor, Mrs. D. Deacon, was appointed and one of the association's members obtained the use, free of charge, of the large church hall belonging to the United Congregational and Presbyterian Church. A car owner offered to provide the transport at a small mileage rate and Dr. Capes and the association were soon in a position to put the idea into effect. The play group now caters for about 20 children and meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for 2\ hours. There are plenty of toys and games to keep the children amused?painting equipment, construction games, a slide and see-saw, dolls, wheeled toys and toy cooking equipment. The children quickly beance
Where private enterprise
can
help
fond of particular occupations and it is a pleasure to see them make for their favourite toy when they arrive. At mid-morning there is lemonade
come
the house. Mrs. Deacon and her assistants, women with knowledge and experience of children's developmental needs, provide a friendly and safe framework in which the children can enjoy themselves. They keep a watchful eye on them, giving assistance when it is needed, tending to the children's needs, providing encouragement and, when over-exuberance tends to lead to tears, stepping in to calm things down. Tt is far from relaxing work, but it is rewarding as the association's report on the group for 1964 shows: 'Without seeing the group in action it is impossible to realise how exhausting and demanding the work is. The fact that the children know they will see the same welcoming faces at every session gives them the sense of security they need.' Since the play group was originally conceived as a voluntary enterprise, its usefulness has been recognised by the local authority's health department which, for the last two years, has been making an ex gratia grant towards its running costs. Furthermore, most of the children have been recommended for admission by people professionally concerned with children's welfare?the children's hospital staff, school medical officers, health visitors, teachers. Almost half the children admitted to the group in 1964 came through the C.G. clinic, which is conveniently situated a few hundred yards up the road from the church hall. The clinic's present director, Dr. Leslie Bartlet, who succeeded Dr. Capes, regularly visits the play group to see the children and discuss their progress with Mrs. Deacon and her assistants. Although the responsibility for the play group remains entirely in the hands of the Southampton and District Association for Mental Health, it has proved of such value to the psychiatrists and other staff at the clinic that it has almost become an extension of their service. A close link between the two is maintained by Miss Marion Opie, a psychiatric social worker who has been active among the families in the area for many years. Miss Opie, who is a member of the local association, is closely involved with the individual problems of children who have had treatment and
on
make these judgements at the play group than in the children's homes and, in fact, students in training have gained valuable experience at Dorset Street in observing pre-school children at play in a group situation. All those connected with the play group are working to help children to overcome difficulties which could cause future suffering to themselves and others, and to enable them to live happier and fuller social lives. The present progress of some of the children who have moved on after a period in the group provides
encouragement. There is D., now at the local infants' school. He was four when he was referred to the children's hospital by his GP because he was defiant and out of his mother's control. She, of a depressed and immature nature, had suffered from nervous symptoms for many years and had been ill when D. was a baby. When he was seen at the hospital, the little boy was aggressive, anxious and over-active, his mother worn out and unable to meet his need for love and stimula-
tion. On joining the play group, D. was defiant, egocentric and aggressive towards the other children, but he was fascinated by the play materials and made good use of them. Gradually he became less frustrated, his attitude to the other children improved and after six months he joined the infants' school where he quickly fitted in. By this time his parents were more relaxed and able to enjoy their very intelligent child. R. is now in a special class in a primary school. When she was referred to the play group by the clinic, at the age of five, she was a well-built, clumsy girl and she had been excluded from school on the grounds of subnormality. Her mother, exasperated because her daughter would not learn to speak and seemed un-
Elevenses at the play-group a social occasion and at the Elevenses play-group is a provides the children with opportunities to practice give and take. with further take. children further opportunities
who, subsequently, join the play group. Through observing the children at play and discussing them with the play group staff and the children's mothers she is able to report back to the clinic on the progress that is being made and on any difficulties that individual children are encountering. This enables the child psychiatrists at the clinic to assess the effectiveness of their treatment and to decide whether further treatment or other help are indicated. In cases of subnormality or where there ar; apparently constitutional difficulties or handicaps a period in the group helps in assessing whether special educational help may be needed. It is far easier to 44
Photo Photo
BroO* John BroO by by John
'
*
*
!.
r^i?L?** 9
a:
\
?' s,
'"Je to #o go home. The play-group's 'chauffeur' service enables ^""e to attend who would otherwise not be able to. 'o
"lQny nany children
of communication, was upset accepted for school. ut at the play group R. showed an immediate interest In the toys, investigating each in turn and obviously eHjoying the freedom to test and try them for herself the space to run and jump. Her vigorous activity llh a hammer toy indicated a need to express some ,
'^erested ^at she
Photo
by John Brooke.
to
in any
was
means
not
.
ottled-up feelings. ef six months the
little girl decided that comunication was rewarding, discovered that she could her own with adults and children, began to show Sense of humour and a desire to be helpful and she k ecame amenable to discipline. Her mother is, Rurally, immensely relieved that her daughter has
^old
to be educable. ^r?ved ch promising stories
strongly suggest
that these
children at Southampton, while suffering from special difficulties, are exceptionally fortunate in having an above-average chance of overcoming them. The Dorset Street Play Group has expanded the sum total of help that the community can offer its children and made more effective the official child welfare services. If more children and their parents are to receive this kind of help there is a need for more play groups, and there are those who believe that it should be the community's responsibility to provide them. Perhaps, in due course, local authorities will undertake this service. But, in the meantime, if the real needs of many of these more vulnerable children are to be adequately catered for in other parts of the country, it looks as though it must depend upon the enterprise of local associations or other voluntary groups. 45
