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Although a considerable proportion of the children are seen at special examinations there is a
residue that defies all efforts at following-up, the parents not infrequently being supported in their attitude
by private or hospital doctors. Except by putting the Defective and Epileptic Act into force there
are no powers of dealing with such cases and it is only when very flagrant neglect is suspected that
it is possible to take further action. It should be noted, however, that the number of cases of this
sort is infinitesimal compared with the total number of children liable to attend school in London.
Juvenile Employment.
Amended by-laws have been drawn up under the Employment of Children Act, 1903, as altered
by the Education Act, 1918. The draft by-laws after an enquiry held by the Home Office have, with the
necessary alterations, now been approved and will come into force at an early date.
The general effect of these by-laws is as follows:—
(a) To prohibit the employment of children in certain occupations unless (1) notice has first
been given by the employer to the head teacher of the school at which the child attends, and (2) a
certificate has been obtained from the school medical officer and has been produced to and endorsed
by the employer. (By-laws 1 and 2.)
(b) To regulate the hours during which children may be employed on week days and to prohibit
early morning and employment on school days except in the delivery of newspapers and in light
household work, in which occupations children may be employed from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. (By-laws 3,
4 and 5.)
(c) To regulate the hours of employment on Sunday and to prohibit employment on that day in
the occupations specified in by-law 1. (By-law 6.)
(d) To prohibit the employment of children in certain specified occupations. (By-law 8.)
(e) To provide that children, employed out of doors in the occupations specified in by-law 1,
shall be suitably clad and in inclement weather supplied with a waterproof coat or similar garment.
(By-law 9.)
(f) To prohibit the employment in street trading of persons under the age of 16 years with the
exception of the sons of costermongers, over 14 years of age and exempt from school attendance, when
such boys are employed to assist their parents in their business at a fixed pitch and subject to certain
conditions. (By-laws 10 and 11.)
The occupations referred to in paragraph (a) comprise:—the delivery of milk, the delivery
of newpapers, carrying or delivering goods or parcels; occupation in, or in connection with, any
shop, in any coal yard, in industrial work at home, in housework away from home, or as a messenger.
It will be seen that all children employed in such occupations will be required to obtain a
certificate from the school medical officer. It is anticipated that a great deal of additional work will be
thrown upon the medical staff in connection with these examinations.
A new duty placed upon the school medical officer by the passing of the Education Act, 1918,
is the medical examination of all children of school age applying for licences for employment in entertainments.
The rules made by the Board of Education in regard to such licences came into operation
on the 1st April, 1920.
Every application for a licence must be accompanied by a certificate of the school medical
officer of the local education authority of the area in which the child resides that he (she) may be so
employed without prejudice to his (her) health or physical development and that the employment will
not render the child unfit to obtain the proper benefit from his (her) education. Further, the child
shall be submitted to examination by the school medical officer at intervals of not more than three
calendar months. A local education authority may also direct that the child shall be examined
by their school medical officer on such other occasions as they think proper and any such directions
shall be complied with. For the purposes of this article the examination shall be by the school medical
officer of the area in which the licence is granted or by the school medical officer of any area in which
the licence is to take effect.
Thus, the school medical officer is required to issue a certificate in the case of every child residing
in the area of the local education authority for whom an application for a licence is made. He is
further required to re-examine every child licensed at intervals not exceeding three months. He may
also be required to re-examine children at more frequent intervals or upon special occasions and he
may be required to examine children licensed under another local education authority but performing
in the area of his own local education authority.
The education authority may attach to the licence any reasonable restrictions tending generally
to promote the health, comfort and moral protection of the children. The rules are expressly drawn
up with a view to securing that each case is judged on its individual merits, and the school medical
officer by judicious suggestions in his report to the authority can do much to safeguard the child's health
from injury and may even secure the improvement of the child's physical condition by the insertion
of reasonable restrictions. For instance, he may in the first case recommend that the licence be not
granted until defects are remedied. Thus the condition of cleanliness of the children and their physical
condition may be remedied if defective at the outset. He may also give suggestions as to holidays
or rest periods (especially at re-examinations); he may advise that in particular cases an extension
of the time for leaving the theatre beyond 10 p.m. is inadvisable, or he may even recommend that
the time should be earlier than this. He may also recommend special attention to diet or continuance
of medical treatment.
No hard and fast standards can be laid down for the examination of the children. Each case
must be considered on its merits. A child who would not be injured by a small walking-on part at a
Notes by Dr.
C. J. Thomas
on the
medical
examination
of school
children
employed in
entertainments
61004
K