Worth Saving

Sue Wheatcroft’s book fills a gap in the historiography on evacuation by examining the policies implemented for children in England defined at the time as blind, deaf, epileptic, physically defective or mentally defective, as well as those children who would come to be termed maladjusted or emotionally disturbed. Drawing extensively on government records, her study commences with an overview of the educational provisions in place for disabled children prior to the outbreak of war and the formation of evacuation policies for these children. The book then examines the challenges of relocating residential special schools, and the disruption experienced by children in special day schools and hospital schools during the course of the war. Wheatcroft also discusses the difficulties experienced by officials in finding suitable provision for children diagnosed as mentally defective who were deemed to be ineducable, and the creation of hostels for children suffering from emotional disturbance. Finally, her study briefly examines educational provision for disabled children in the post-war years

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