Wingfield School opened in the 1940s. It was for the children who lived at Wingfield House. Initially it was located between the Tasmanian Sanatorium and the Women’s Division on the grounds of St John’s Park, New Town. In 1957, it moved to two new classrooms built to the rear and east of Wingfield House. Wingfield School became Dalton School in the 1960s.
In January 1957, the Truth newspaper published an article complaining about conditions at Wingfield School. The exact nature of the complaints is not clear but a memo to the Minister for Education from the Minister for Health agreed with the article that the school was ‘in a very untidy and dirty situation’. In addition, the School was some distance from Wingfield House and did not have a telephone, a situation that the Minster for Health later corrected.
In early April 1957, as a result of the complaint, John Edis, the Director General of Health Services, suggested that the children could go to schools off the St John’s Park site. He said that six of the children living at Wingfield House did not need treatment, and therefore could attend an ordinary school. Of the 10 remaining children who did require treatment, another six could also attend an ordinary school. Those with intellectual disabilities could go to Talire, which was a government run special school. However, by the end of April, the government had decided to build the two classrooms using a ‘light construction’ nearer to Wingfield House. They would be connected by a covered walkway.