London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1925
The annual report on the health of the Borough for the year1925
This page requires JavaScript
83
DAY NURSERIES.
In 1921, there were six Day Nurseries in the Borough, namely :—
(a) The Golborne Day Nursery.
(b) The Appleford Road Day Nursery.
(c) The Lancaster Road Day Nursery.
(d) The Notting Hill Day Nursery.
(e) The St. Clement's Day Nursery.
(/) The St. Luke's Day Nursery.
The St. Luke's Day Nursery closed in 1922 and the Appleford Road Day Nursery closed in the
Autumn of 1925. There has been a fairly constant demand for a Day Nursery service during the
past five years; the total attendances in 1921 were 34,397 and in 1925, 34,747. During the War
period, when it was of supreme national importance that women should take the places of men in
the industries of the country, the value of these institutions was unquestionable and at the present
time they are of great value to those mothers who, through force of circumstances, are compelled
to go out to work for the support of their families; but there is no doubt that at times Day
Nurseries are used for the care of children whose mothers can well afford to stay at home and who,
though not in financial difficulties, avail themselves of the opportunity of working in a factory or
shop to augment their incomes. It is important, therefore, that particular stress should be laid on
the necessity for care in the selection of infants for admission in order to prevent unnecessary
expenditure of public money on children whose mothers go out to work for preference and not of
necessity. The future of Day Nurseries requires very careful consideration, for it is open to question
whether it would not be better and even more economical to spend the money on keeping
necessitous, widowed and deserted mothers at home with their children rather than on the support
of Day Nurseries.
The following table shows a record of children's attendances at the five Day Nurseries in the Borough in the year 1925.
| Golborne. | Appleford Road. | Lancaster Road. | Notting Hill Day Nursery | St. Clement's, Treadgold St. | Totals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Whole day attendances of children under 3 years of age | 5460 | 2992 | 2593 | 9602 | 2876 | 23523 |
| 2. Whole day attendances of children over 3 years of age | 2204 | 498 | 1632 | 4111 | 839 | 9284 |
| 3. Total whole day attendances | 7664 | 3490 | 4225 | 13713 | 3715 | 32807 |
| 4. Charges made for each attendance of a child | 10d. | 9d. | 9d. | 8d. | 1/- | — |
| 5. Half-day attendances of children under 3 years of age | - | 606 | 361 | - | 539 | 1506 |
| 6. Half-day attendances of children over 3 years of age | - | 101 | 236 | _ | 97 | 434 |
| 7. Total half-day attendances | — | 707 | 597 | — | 636 | 1940 |
| 8. Charges made for each attendance of a child | — | 5d. | 6d. | — | 6d. | — |
| 9. Average daily attendance of children | 36 | 20 | 22 | 60 | 14 | — |
HOMES FOR DESERTED, WIDOWED OR UNMARRIED
MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN.
At the beginning of 1921, there were three of these institutions in the Borough. They were
situated at :—
(1) No. 124, Elgin Crescent,
(2) No. 65, Lancaster Road, and
(3) No. 2, Upper Phillimore Place.
In that year, the Committees of two institutions (No. 124, Elgin Crescent and No. 65, Lancaster
Road) amalgamated, the Lancaster Road Home was closed and those mothers in residence were
transferred to the Elgin Crescent address. The combined Committee sought larger premises in
the Borough but, being unsuccessful, they obtained a large house at No. 466, Uxbridge Road, in
the Borough of Hammersmith, to which they removed from Elgin Crescent in 1922.
These Homes have carried out splendid work during the past five years.