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42
Six of the Council's day nurseries are approved by the Department of Health and Social Security
for the training of 36 students. Eleven students qualified this year but with the number of openings
for qualified nursery nurses, it is difficult to keep them after training and so it sometimes happens
that because of staff shortage, a nursery may not be able to take its full quota of children.
Child Minding
Amendments contained in Section 60 of the Health Services and Public Health Act, 1968 to the
Nurseries and Child Minders Regulation Act, 1948 enabled the City Council to make improvements
in relation to child minding by imposing more stringent requirements before registration under the
amended Act is approved. These requirements which are imposed by Order of the Council cover such
aspects as the number and age of the children who may be minded, staffing numbers and health of
the staff, general safety of the children, precautions regarding sickness, records, etc., all of which are
contained in a Schedule set out below, to which the prospective child minder must agree as a prerequisite
to registration and subsequently must observe at all times.
SCHEDULE
(i) the number of children to be received into the home shall not at any time exceed under
the age of five years of which may be under the age of years;
(ii) in addition to the registered minder full-time assistant shall be employed
OR
arrangements shall be made for a second person nearby to be on call in case of emergency
and to be present in the absence of the registered minder;
(iii) the registered minder and any staff employed by her shall produce a certificate of chest x-ray
examination prior to employment and thereafter at three yearly intervals or such lesser period
as may be required by the Medical Officer of Health;
(iv) adequate fireguards to be provided and fixed to all gas, electric, solid fuel or oil heaters with
which the child/children may have contact; the following equipment shall be provided at the
said premises: (specified as necessary)
(v) the home and all equipment shall be adequently maintained, and kept in a safe condition;
(vi) if any person residing temporarily or permanently in the premises of which the home forms
part is suffering from any infectious or contagious disease, no child is to be admitted to the
home other than the registered person's own children or relations, unless the Medical Officer
of Health certifies that there is no likely danger of infection to the child ;
(vii) no child who appears to be suffering from any infectious or contagious disease is to be
admitted to the home;
(viii) in the event of the registered person being informed, or should she herself observe, that any
child attending the home is suffering from any infectious or contagious disease, this fact must
be reported immediately by the registered person to the Medical Officer of Health;
(ix) adequate arrangements shall be made for feeding the children with a diet adequate in quantity
and content;
(x) the children received in the home shall be under medical supervision;
(xi) records shall be kept in relation to the children received in the home specifying the following
(a) details of each child attending the minder's home, including name, date of birth, record
of infectious diseases and immunisations, mother's name and address, place of work and
telephone number;
(b) name, address and telephone number of each child's own general practitioner;
(c) attendance and absence register;
(d) record of medical inspections, if any;
(e) record of any accidents or serious illness occurring whilst in the home;
(f) diet.
An assistant nursing officer was appointed early in 1969 to be responsible for the registration and
supervision of child minders and private day nurseries. She is helped by a male administrative
assistant who deals with infringements and enforcement. The assistant nursing officer can therefore
retain her role as helper and adviser to the people concerned.