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Parkwood Hall School 1970 – 1974. Recollections of James Lynch
Parkwood Hall School opened in 1970 following the discontinuation of the Approved School system in 1969. A good many of the staff transferred from Stockgrove Park Approved School near Leighton Buzzard. The school was established by the Inner London Education Authority, and designated for Educationally Subnormal and Maladjusted Boys, young people whom we would now refer to as having learning difficulties and behavioural problems, the age range was 11 -16.
The school buildings in 1970 were very much as they are today (2021). The entrance hall had the headmaster’s office, Mr. Little, with a secretary’s office nearby. The rest of the ground floor was taken up with classrooms, and three large rooms, referred to as day-rooms, where boys passed their time playing table tennis, cards and all sorts of board games when not in class. The first floor above the entrance housed the bursar’s flat, Ms. Best, and above that was the headmaster’s flat. The rest of the first floor was taken up with dormitories, and with adjacent bed-sitting rooms for the single staff, not en-suite! Married staff lived a much more detached life in flats in the annexe, and in two cottages at the far end of the grounds off the Hextable road. The former chapel was used as a gym, with badminton and basketball popular. The then deputy head, Tony Hooper, became a prominent member of the Wheelchair Basketball Association, an international referee and a major figure in the development of the Paralympic basketball movement. Sport, football and cricket, were the passion. Swanley Cricket Club used to practise pre-season in the nets, and in return we had a game with them. The school soon became established in the local community, not without some adjustments. The boys were registered with a local optician, but when a great proportion returned with glasses, it was discovered that those who could not read were simply guessing the letters on the chart, and the optician only realised what was going on when one boy on being invited to read the letters on the chart, began to recite the Lord’s Prayer. Red faces all round. There was a carpentry and wood workshop in the grounds, presided over by Mr. Peel.
There were three Houses, imaginatively called House One, Two and Three, each with their own coloured jumper to go with blue jeans. There were roughly thirty boys in each house. The regime was strict, boys were marched in silence from day rooms to the dining hall, or dormitories. The boys were from a range of ethnic backgrounds. They were all full of energy and mischief, but rarely more than that; they were great fun.
I arrived in May 1971 to take up a post as a housefather, I was twenty-six years old, and had no relevant training or background. The school was still in its first academic year, and still settling down. There weren’t a huge number of staff, perhaps twelve house-parents, which for 24/7 oversight of nearly one hundred difficult children is not excessive. One could be on duty caring for thirty ‘high-spirited’ boys. In addition there were about half-a-dozen or so teachers and then domestic staff.
A number of staff had transferred from the Approved School and brought some of that outlook with them. The regime was very disciplined, education was the focus, there was little attempt to provide any therapy, and in fact the care staff had no access to background information on the boys. Family social workers would visit occasionally, and a psychologist, but not to provide regular supervision of support for staff or boys. I would say that I found the conditions were harsh, although there was little actual violence and corporal punishment was not in evidence. Gradually, things quietened down, and I felt that the new, young staff achieved a good working atmosphere. There was a system of marking for privileges. A good many of the boys went home for weekends from time to time, this was considered a privilege, and could be withdrawn.
We had gardening, story time, walks and outings, with staff and boys ranging far and wide across Kent, from Knole Park to Dover. We often went across to Canada Heights, now across the M25 I think. Occasionally boys ran away; one bright spark turned up at the police station with a fishing rod tearfully claiming that he had lost his money, and was given the fare home after a whip-round. It was a time I look back on very fondly, they were great lads.
PHOTOS OF CHAPEL AND DINING ROOM ARE FROM SHG'S VISIT TO PARKWOOD HALL IN AUGUST 2016 COPYRIGHT SHG
Parkwood Hall School 1970 – 1974. Recollections of James Lynch
Parkwood Hall School opened in 1970 following the discontinuation of the Approved School system in 1969. A good many of the staff transferred from Stockgrove Park Approved School near Leighton Buzzard. The school was established by the Inner London Education Authority, and designated for Educationally Subnormal and Maladjusted Boys, young people whom we would now refer to as having learning difficulties and behavioural problems, the age range was 11 -16.
The school buildings in 1970 were very much as they are today (2021). The entrance hall had the headmaster’s office, Mr. Little, with a secretary’s office nearby. The rest of the ground floor was taken up with classrooms, and three large rooms, referred to as day-rooms, where boys passed their time playing table tennis, cards and all sorts of board games when not in class. The first floor above the entrance housed the bursar’s flat, Ms. Best, and above that was the headmaster’s flat. The rest of the first floor was taken up with dormitories, and with adjacent bed-sitting rooms for the single staff, not en-suite! Married staff lived a much more detached life in flats in the annexe, and in two cottages at the far end of the grounds off the Hextable road. The former chapel was used as a gym, with badminton and basketball popular. The then deputy head, Tony Hooper, became a prominent member of the Wheelchair Basketball Association, an international referee and a major figure in the development of the Paralympic basketball movement. Sport, football and cricket, were the passion. Swanley Cricket Club used to practise pre-season in the nets, and in return we had a game with them. The school soon became established in the local community, not without some adjustments. The boys were registered with a local optician, but when a great proportion returned with glasses, it was discovered that those who could not read were simply guessing the letters on the chart, and the optician only realised what was going on when one boy on being invited to read the letters on the chart, began to recite the Lord’s Prayer. Red faces all round. There was a carpentry and wood workshop in the grounds, presided over by Mr. Peel.
There were three Houses, imaginatively called House One, Two and Three, each with their own coloured jumper to go with blue jeans. There were roughly thirty boys in each house. The regime was strict, boys were marched in silence from day rooms to the dining hall, or dormitories. The boys were from a range of ethnic backgrounds. They were all full of energy and mischief, but rarely more than that; they were great fun.
I arrived in May 1971 to take up a post as a housefather, I was twenty-six years old, and had no relevant training or background. The school was still in its first academic year, and still settling down. There weren’t a huge number of staff, perhaps twelve house-parents, which for 24/7 oversight of nearly one hundred difficult children is not excessive. One could be on duty caring for thirty ‘high-spirited’ boys. In addition there were about half-a-dozen or so teachers and then domestic staff.
A number of staff had transferred from the Approved School and brought some of that outlook with them. The regime was very disciplined, education was the focus, there was little attempt to provide any therapy, and in fact the care staff had no access to background information on the boys. Family social workers would visit occasionally, and a psychologist, but not to provide regular supervision of support for staff or boys. I would say that I found the conditions were harsh, although there was little actual violence and corporal punishment was not in evidence. Gradually, things quietened down, and I felt that the new, young staff achieved a good working atmosphere. There was a system of marking for privileges. A good many of the boys went home for weekends from time to time, this was considered a privilege, and could be withdrawn.
We had gardening, story time, walks and outings, with staff and boys ranging far and wide across Kent, from Knole Park to Dover. We often went across to Canada Heights, now across the M25 I think. Occasionally boys ran away; one bright spark turned up at the police station with a fishing rod tearfully claiming that he had lost his money, and was given the fare home after a whip-round. It was a time I look back on very fondly, they were great lads.
PHOTOS OF CHAPEL AND DINING ROOM ARE FROM SHG'S VISIT TO PARKWOOD HALL IN AUGUST 2016 COPYRIGHT SHG