It was during the reign of Queen Victoria that East Park
first opened its doors on 16 September 1874 following the purchase
and refurbishment of a cottage in Maryhill for the princely sum of
£1,450. Part of the original cottage, which could accommodate
up to 50 children, still stands today although it is unrecognisable
with all the developments that have taken place over the
years. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 made it compulsory
for children between the ages of 5 and 13 years to attend school
although there was no public funding available until 1890.
The schools were run by around 1,000 School Boards across
Scotland. It was in direct response to the 1872 Act that East
Park, a Christian institution was founded by William Mitchell LLD
who formed "The Association for Visiting and Aiding the Permanently
Infirm and Imbecile Children". Like-minded Ladies and Gentlemen
visited families in and around Glasgow, the names of which were
provided by the School Board of Inquiry. The purpose of
the visits was to record the home circumstances and children's
conditions and identify those children who would benefit from
residential nursing care and education, nourishment and fresh
country air away from the smoky city, insanitary conditions and
unfortunate family circumstances in which they lived.
In the early years, East Park was entirely financially dependent
on charitable donations from the Church, members of the public,
annual subscriptions and from the endowment and maintenance of
specially named cots. As a result of the development of the
State, East Park first received an annual grant in 1913 from the
then "Scottish Education Department" to assist with the annual
running costs. State intervention as it was perceived
then, was deprecated by many of East Park's friends and
subscribers, but over the years, and to this day, grant funding by
the Scottish Government has enabled East Park to continue to
provide essential education, care and support to some of Scotland's
most disadvantaged and excluded children and young people.
It is surprising how many similarities there are between East
Park in the early years and 21st century East Park, the most
obvious being that the education, care and well-being of children
has always been our principal concern. Since inception, our
location in the heart of Maryhill is also significant in that we
have always been an integral part of the local community. To
name a few, there remains a longstanding relationship with local
Partick Thistle Football Club which dates back to 1912 and The
Trades House of Glasgow who has supported East Park since 1892.
What is strikingly different however, is the nature of the
children's ailments. In 1874 children were admitted with
paralysis, hip, spine and knee joint diseases with rickets being a
widespread problem. Thankfully due to advances in medical
knowledge, immunisation and a developed society, the majority if
not all of these conditions have been eliminated. All of the
children who use our services today have complex learning
disabilities coupled with additional physical disabilities, health
related problems or a diagnosis of autism.
As a survivor of two World Wars, East Park has gone from
strength to strength. Much of our success has been our
ability to recognise and respond to changing societal needs,
evolving education and social care policy and legislation and
develop our services to meet those needs.