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9
The analysis immediately following in accordance with the practice of preceding
years is confined to the three "statutory" age groups, viz.: entrants, intermediates
(age 7), and children aged 11. The health of the leaving children will be
separately considered afterwards.
The state of
nutrition of
the ohildren
In view of the importance now attached to nutritional surveys, the figures will
be set out and discussed in a later section of this report specially devoted to a consideration
of this and cognate conditions (p. 16).
Cleanliness
Personal hygiene is the second of three great indices—nutrition, cleanliness,
clothing—by which social conditions and their improvement can be assessed.
In 1938 the percentage of children in the three prescribed age groups found free
from traces of nits or pediculi in the hair at routine medical inspection was 97.7,
compared with 97.4 in the previous two years, and with 97.0 in 1935. For some years
past the condition of the hair of the 12-year-old girls has been taken as the criterion
of cleanliness, and it has been pointed out that there has been a gradual improvement
from 67.2 per cent. free from all traces of vermin in 1913 to 75 per cent. in 1923,
91.9 per cent. in 1930, and 93.5 per cent. in 1931. This figure was still further
improved in 1932, when the high level of 95.8 per cent. was obtained.
In the year 1934 the percentage of 11-year-old girls (who now take the place of
the 12-year-old group) entirely free from vermin was 94.8. This percentage was
raised to 95.1 in 1935, 95.7 in 1936, 96.1 in 1937 and 96.5 in 1938, thus establishing a
new high record.
It must be remembered that the parents are warned of the medical inspections
upon which these figures are based, and the children appear spick and span for the
occasion. The figures given in these results are therefore better than would be the
case at surprise inspections, such as those carried out by the nurses in their rota visits
to the schools. It is, however, impossible for the parents to eradicate at short notice
the traces of persistent neglect. It is a pleasure to record that the mothers of the
children have responded so well to the persistent advice of the school nurses.
It is now very rare for the school doctor to find a child actually infested with
body vermin, a condition which 3 to 4 per cent. of the elementary school children
exhibited in the early days of medical inspection. Only 86 children were found in
the statutory age groups to be affected by body vermin in 1938, out of 127,921
examined.
Clothing and
footwear
When the children are undressed by the nurse preparatory to the medical
inspection, she enters on the medical record card a note of the condition of the clothing
and footwear. The results of this classification for 1937 and 1938 are given below.

In earlier years the percentages of children with insufficient clothing and
inadequate footgear were much higher. On the whole girls are tidier than boys.