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West Kirby Residential School was first known as a
Children’s Convalescent Home. The Home began in Filey Terrace by
admitting six children so that they could benefit from good clean fresh
air, good food, dedicated care and attention.
The prevalence of children suffering from the effects of bad housing,
neglect, debility and diseases such as tuberculosis, rheumatism,
rheumatic fever, rickets, typhoid, bronchitis, in the 1880’s it was
recognised by the founders of the Home who provided the first
accommodation in the Hoylake Cottage. The present site was acquired and
the hospital block was built in 1899, which was ultimately to benefit
many thousands of children, by co-operation with the founders of a
hospital. Children in the hospital block at the Convalescent Home, who
were of longer stay than the majority of the other children, created
pressure on the voluntary teaching which was first provided. Therefore,
a certificated teacher was appointed as Headteacher and a school,
recognised by the Board of Education as a Day School attached to a Home
was opened in 1901. This was the first school in the country to be
recognised for the education of physically defective children. In 1905,
the Board of Education recognised the school as a Boarding School.
During 1918 the Home received children from London, Lincolnshire,
Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire, as well as from the local
area. Various Education Acts had been passed which recognised the
growing importance of Special Education. During the war, of the 3,424
children admitted, a high proportion of the medical cases were admitted
under the Emergency Hospital Scheme. The discovery of Penicillin
treatment by antibiotics and other factors resulted in the improvement
of the general health of children. So there became less demand for
places. The significance of change and the importance of education were
recognised by the change of title of the establishment. The new title
adopted in 1959 was the ‘Children’s Convalescent Home and School.
The 60’s brought great changes. The number of convalescent children
continued to decline but the number of school children increased. The
Department of Education raised the approved accommodation to 160
children and plans for further extensions to the school were made in
1970. The Warnock Report published in 1978 indicated that all children
should be seen in terms of their individual needs, many would benefit
from being transferred from special schools to mainstream schools,
though there would always be the case of retention of some special
schools. During this decade there was consolidation of the education
services at West Kirby and with an ever-widening curriculum to children
with a wide range of disabilities. Successful examination results were
recorded and outdoor activities flourished. Much attention was paid to
the preparation of school leavers in order that they would be fitted to
meet the challenges of life after school. In 1979 the Childcare staff
were brought under the control of the Headteacher. Consequently the Term
‘Home’ was to be no longer used and was replaced by the present title of
‘West Kirby Residential School’
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