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1930
42
Day Nursery.
The Nursery is situated in Bollo Bridge Road, and is open
on five days a week. Saturday opening has been tried but the
attendance did not justify the Saturday opening.
The Nursery was open on 212 occasions, and 4,307 whole-day
and 177 half-day attendances were made.
Nurse Children.
Section 2 of the Local Government Act, 1929, provided that
as from April 1st, 1930, the functions under Part I. of the Children
Act, 1908, formerly discharged by poor law authorities, should
be discharged by the councils of counties and county boroughs
as functions under the Maternity and Child Welfare Act, 1918,
except that where the council of a district have established a
maternity and child welfare committee, the said functions shall
in that district be discharged by the council of that district.
The main object of Part I. of the Children Act is to secure
that any child under seven years of age. who is maintained "for
reward" shall be notified to the local authority in order that it
may be kept under observation and supervision.
Every person who undertakes for reward the nursing and
maintenance of one or more infants under the age of seven years
apart from their parents, or having no parents, must give notice
to the local authority, giving certain particulars. Written notice
must also be given in the case of death, or change of residence
or removal of the child.
Certain persons are prohibited from receiving children for
reward, and under certain conditions children can, on an order
from a magistrate, be removed from premises or persons that are
undesirable or unsatisfactory.
The local authority has to provide for the administration of
the Act and the Boards of Guardians had to appoint Infant Protection
Visitors, but in a Memorandum issued by the Ministry
of Health, it was suggested that the Health Visitors should be
appointed Infant Protection Visitors under Part I. of the Children
Act, and the Council adopted this suggestion.
The Health Visitors were already visiting most of the
children under 5 years of age who had been adopted for reward,
and it simply meant that they should continue visiting until the
children were seven years of age. Two officers carry out home
visiting of infants and school children in their respective areas.
When the duties were taken over from the Guardians, a list
of children was forwarded, and on this list there were 39 names
Between April 1st and December 31st 26 other names were added,
but 13 names were removed from the register in the same period.
There were remaining on the register on December 31st, 52 names.