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The free provision of meals and of milk in London schools will in future be
carried out in the same way. Teachers are now empowered to place children who
appear to need feeding on the dinners or milk list as an interim measure, pending
the investigation and decision of the school care committee, and the children
concerned will all be placed under medical supervision as soon as possible.

The making of returns in relation to meals in school imposes such labour upon
the teachers that since April, 1935, they were relieved of the duty of returning the
numbers of children having milk in school for payment and of those having codliver
oil free or for payment.
The great enthusiasm with which the scheme of the Milk Marketing Board,
made under the Milk Act, 1934, was taken up in London was described in the last
annual report.
In October, 1934, within a fortnight of the scheme coming into force, there were
no fewer than 364,157 children obtaining milk in school at the new cheap rates.
There occurred a considerable drop in the total number of children on the rolls
of public elementary schools in London between October, 1934, and October, 1935.
According to returns made on form 208M to the Board of Education, there were in
March, 1935, 344,604 children in public elementary schools in London receiving
milk under the " milk in schools scheme," and 322,597 children in October, 1935.
The number of children on the registers on 29th March, 1935, was 521,532 and on
1st October, 1935, was 507,066.
Under the scheme of the Board, payment for milk supplied to schools under
its provisions is only made to those dealers who are approved by the school medical
officer in consultation with the local medical officer of health.
In 1935 two sources were found to be unsuitable, either on account of the
cleanliness or quality of the milk supplied, and my approval was formally withdrawn.
A series of complaints that spicules of glass were found in the milk bottles
supplied made an enquiry into this trouble necessary. It appears that the presence
of the spicules was connected with the use of wide-mouthed bottles sealed with
cardboard discs. The dealers are meeting this difficulty by the provision of a
narrower-necked bottle sealed with caps of tinfoil and improved carriers.
From a return made by the nurses visiting the schools, it appeared that spicules
of glass had been noted in bottles delivered under 152 contracts, and several reports
suggested that none had been found since the introduction of the narrower-necked
bottles.
The progress by the end of July, 1935, in replacing the wide-mouthed by narrownecked
bottles sealed with tin-foil caps is shown by the figures given in the returns
made by the nurses. At that time deliveries were made as follows:—
In glass bottles with cardboard discs 968
In glass bottles with metal caps 296
In cartons 14
Total 1,278
Defective children.
Examinations with a view to the admission of children to special schools,
other than hospital schools, were made in 4,061 cases. The following table
shows the number of children nominated for examination and the recommendations
made:—