§ Mr. Chetwyndasked the Minister of Education what facilities are available for the education of handicapped children; how many such children are accommodated in boarding schools; how many are awaiting places; how many are receiving home education; and what plans he has to expand these facilities.
§ Mr. TomlinsonFollowing are the provisional figures for January, 1950. My plans are to expand these facilities as rapidly as possible and to see that the special schools get a fair share of the limited resources available for educational investment.
SPECIAL SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND AND WALES: — Number of special schools Number of pupils Boarding … … 191 13,130 Hospital … … 110 6,576 Day … … 300 27,441 Total … … 601 47,147
NUMBER OF HANDICAPPED CHILDREN: (a) awaiting places in special schools 21,852* (b) receiving home tuition 814† (c) sent by local education authorities to independent schools 573† * Many of these children are attending ordinary primary or secondary schools, pending admission to a special school. † Some of these are also included in the total of 21,852 awaiting admission to special schools.