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44
The Cynthia Mosley Day Nursery
The day nursery has continued its successful career during the
year, and the need for further nurseries, is emphasised by the
demand. Applications for admission are rather more than double
the numbers which can be accommodated, and the disappointment
caused to so many unsuccessful applicants renders the provision of
other nurseries a matter of some urgency. The Council have agreed
in principle to three more nurseries so that there shall be one in
each of the four Parliamentary divisions, and the plans of one in
the Norwood division on the County Council's Tulse Hill estate
are now practically complete. Incorporated in the one building
besides the nursery are a welfare centre and a school clinic.
The day nursery forms an integral part of the Lambeth
Maternity and Child Welfare scheme, and is now included in the
scheme of the Minister of Health made under section 101 (6) Local
Government Act, 1929. It has also been recognised by the Board
of Education as a nursery school in respect of the toddlers' side.
To meet the requirements of the Board the number of children
accommodated has been reduced from 50 to 45 in the winter months,
of whom 30 belong to the nursery school. There were 10,315
attendances during the year upon 248 working days, giving an
average daily total of 41 children accommodated. The gross cost
per child per day has risen to over three shillings and sevenpence
compared with two shillings and five pence in 1937. The increase
is due to a number of causes of which the cost of food is one, but
the largest item is the rent and upkeep of a flat taken over in the
middle of the year to enable the staff to be adequately housed.
Proposals were made by the voluntary committee for the extension
of the premises at a cost of some £5,000 earl}- in 1937. It had been
found then that the staff accommodation was much below the
standard in many other institutions and it was increasingly
difficult to obtain and keep a happy and contented staff in the
overcrowded conditions. The committee of the council deferred
action for a year for various reasons and then were unable to put
forward any recommendation to the Council for a grant towards
the cost of building. The voluntary committee of the nursery
were obliged to drop the extension scheme altogether and rented
a flat to meet the urgent requirements. This course is by no means