Identity area
Type of entity
Government
Authorized form of name
Woodlands School (New Westminster, B.C.)
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1950-1996
History
Woodlands opened in 1878 as part of the Provincial Asylum for the Insane. The institution originally treated both children and adults with a variety of mental disorders, but the focus of the institution gradually shifted solely to children, and in 1950 the institution was renamed Woodlands School. Former adult patients were transferred to Essondale. The children who resided at Woodlands had a variety of backgrounds, and generally came to the institution in one of two ways. Some experienced behavioural or developmental challenges, others were epileptic or had been diagnosed as hyperactive, and yet others were abandoned at birth or had been made wards of the state. Parents or guardians could voluntarily choose to admit their children, or they could be placed there by the Superintendent of Child Welfare when they became wards of the state. Woodlands operated as a ‘total’ institution, with the result that “every aspect of the resident’s life was defined, controlled and provided for by those responsible for operating the institution.” (McCallum, page 11). Depending on their needs, residents could be transferred from Woodlands to Essondale, Tranquille, or Colquitz. By the late 1950s, Woodlands was home to approximately 1400 individuals. The institution’s population continued to grow, with an estimated 1600 residents by 1973. However, staffing levels remained problematic, and there were only a reported 12 teachers on staff in 1973.
By 1986, operations at the institution began to wind down, and many residents were housed in community placements as the province endeavored to move away from the ‘total institution’ approach. In 1996, Woodlands shut its doors forever. A part of the building was destroyed by fire in 2008, and the remaining Centre Block was demolished in 2011
Following a series of complaints from former Woodlands residents, the BC Liberals commissioned the then-former ombudsperson, Dulcie McCallum, the produce an administrative review. The review was completed in 2001 and released under the title, “The Need to Know : Administrative Review of Woodland School” in 2002.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
B government name
General context
Relationships area
Related entity
Identifier of related entity
Category of relationship
Type of relationship
is the predecessor of
Woodlands School (New Westminster, B.C.)
Dates of relationship
Description of relationship
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Revised PW/KH 2017-05-26
Revised : TJONES 2018-10-29
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Burgmann, Tamsyn. “Woodland School survivors watch as building demolished,” on CTV News Vancouver. 2011. Accessed 29 October 2018 from https://bc.ctvnews.ca/woodlands-school-survivors-watch-as-building-demolished-1.712807
Gregory, Roxanne. “Woodlands justice in doubt,” in Georgia Straight. 2006. Accessed 29 October 2018 from https://www.straight.com/article/woodlands-justice-in-doubt
McCallum, Dulcie. “The Need to Know : Administrative Review of Woodlands School.” 2001. Accessed 29 October 2018 from http://www.inclusionbc.org/sites/default/files/The_Need_to_Know.pdf