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DAY NURSERIES AND CHILD MINDERS
Private Day Nurseries
There are thirteen private nurseries registered with the Council under the Nurseries
& Child-Minders Regulation Act, 1948. The Act regulates premises which are not
wholly or mainly private dwellings in which children under the upper limit of compulsory
school age are received to be looked after for the day or part of the day, in
order to secure the safety and well being of the children.
So far as possible formal application is discouraged until the Council's officers
have had an opportunity to visit the premises to discuss the project with the applicant
and to report upon the suitability of the premises for use as a day nursery. On receipt
of the completed application form the Borough Surveyor and the Town Planning
Officer are asked to deal with fire escape provisions and land development requirements
respectively. The Health Committee approves the application before the
premises can be registered as a day nursery.
Places are available for 319 children in these private day nurseries.
Child Minders
There are two types of child-minders, i.e. voluntary and statutory. The voluntary
scheme applies to daily minding of one or two children under the age of five and not
attending school. The statutory scheme is applied to those minding three or more
children who register under the Nurseries and Child-Minders Regulation Act, 1948.
Under both schemes registrations are considered on their merits after the applicants
are visited and interviewed at their homes. In the case of statutory child-minders the
Health Committee approves their registration and imposes any requirements necessary
as to numbers and other conditions.
Mothers pay a mutually agreed amount to minders for the care of their children.
A small fee is paid by the Council to voluntary registered child-minders to encourage
them to bring the children to health centres regularly. At 31st December, 1966
there were 96 voluntary child-minders registered to mind 119 children and 51
statutory child-minders authorised to mind 285 children.
Council's Day Nurseries
The Council owns three day nurseries; one at Rushey Green, one at Perry Rise
(Shaftesbury House) and one at Amersham Road. The number of approved places
in these nurseries is 59, 35 and 58 respectively. Day nurseries are provided for children
under five years of age where the child has only one parent who has to go out to work,
where the mother is in ill-health and cannot care adequately, where home circumstances
are detrimental to health or where the mother is compelled to go out to work
as an economic necessity. With each application a report on family conditions and
necessity for admission to a day nursery is provided by the health visitor. A daily
charge is made to parents according to their financial circumstances. Unless their
circumstances change in the meantime, all cases are reviewed financially at least
every six months and fully at least annually.
Deaf, blind and partially sighted children are also admitted to the Council's
nurseries for a period of up to fifteen hours a week without charge, the numbers of
blind and partially sighted children being limited to four at each of Amersham Road
and Rushey Green day nurseries. There is a Special Unit at Shaftesbury House day
nursery for twelve severely sub-normal children, no charge is made for this service
except for 6d. a day in respect of a mid-day meal.
Day nurseries, playgroups and child minders are visited by the Health Visitors.
This surveillance is considered to be a most important aspect of the visitor's work,
and it is mainly due to their constant vigilance that the recognised abuses of child
minding are not allowed to develop. However, there is the ever present danger of
unofficial or unauthorised child minders operating and whenever such cases are
brought to notice an immediate investigation is made and action taken.
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