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64
Colleges for Further Education
At the London College of Fashion a medical officer attended for 33 sessions, and examined 196
students. For other Colleges for Further Education arrangements are made for social workers to refer
students about whom they are worried to the Principal Medical Officer at City Hall for examination and
investigation.
Arrangements are made each year for a medical examination of the students completing their training at
Sidney Webb College. In the summer of 1971 nine sessions were arranged at which 126 students were seen.
School milk
When the Education (Milk) Bill was published there was an immediate public outcry. In consequence in
June 1971 the Inner London Boroughs were asked to investigate the practicability under the Local
Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1963 of paying for the continuation of supplies of milk to children
in junior schools. Most of these boroughs ultimately arranged to provide the milk but the City of
Westminster decided not to use this power.
The Education (Milk) Bill was passed late in the summer term and received Royal Assent on 5th August
1971. The Provision of Milk and Meals (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 1971, made under the Act, were
laid before Parliament on 25th August 1971 and came into effect on 1st September 1971. During the
passage of the Bill through Parliament and in anticipation of approval, the Education Officer to the Inner
London Education Authority sent a letter on 19th July 1971 to the Heads of junior schools with a request
that they consult their school doctor about the likely number of pupils to be recommended on health
grounds for free milk, and to make a provisional order for September deliveries. It was however much too
late for such action to be taken. The school nurses in Westminster were therefore asked during the school
holidays to examine the medical records and select, if possible in consultation with the Heads, those
children who might require school milk. As a result of this, out of 7213 children on the roll, 1024 were
identified, i.e. 14%. The proportion recommended varied between 100% in one school and 0% in eleven
schools.
During the first weeks of the autumn term the School Medical Officers were asked to examine those
1024 children and any others brought to their notice and to sign certificates for those who in their opinion
required milk on health grounds. As there are no clear medical criteria on which this need could be assessed,
the task was an extremely difficult one, especially in the case of new entrants and where the school health
staff and Educational Welfare Officers were new to the area. They must be congratulated on the way in
which they coped with an unwelcome duty, especially against a background of intense political activity.
Thirty school medical sessions had to be entirely devoted to this task. There was a consequent disruption of
the school health programme and routine and special examinations had to be postponed. Certificates were
ultimately signed in respect of 713 children. This represents 10% of the school roll which was in line with
what the Department of Education & Science anticipated.
Statistics relating to the School Health Service are set out in Tables 43-49, pages 93-97.
DENTAL SERVICE
D. K. Hardy L.D.S., R.C.S.(Eng).
Chief Dental Officer and Principal School Dental Officer
During 1971 there was a slight change in our attitude to the dental needs of children in schools within
the City of Westminster. The foundation for this change was laid in 1970 with a meeting of head teachers at
City Hall who endorsed the idea that Dental Health Education should be brought into the schools. The
reason for launching such a plan was that there seemed to be no diminution of the caries problem and it
was felt that a campaign to get the co-operation of the children in cleaning their teeth was essential. The
campaign was planned to take teams of trained personnel into the classrooms of all the infant and junior
schools. The children in such schools were then assembled to see films, either "Johnnie and the D.K.
Robot" or "No Toothache for Eskimos" or both. The theme of the campaign was "if you must eat a sweet
— why not an apple" and to this end we were able to distribute boxes of apples kindly supplied free. The
schools were also provided with posters and leaflets.