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the selection and approval of guardians for registration and for periodic
visits to the guardian's home after the child has been placed.
The majority of children minded by this means are placed for comparatively
short periods.
Daily Guardian Scheme
Return for Year ended 31st December, 1958
No. of Daily Guardians on Register 160
No. of Daily Guardians minding Children 73
No. of Children being minded 85
Total No. of Children minded during the year 175
Total No. of days minded 16,628
Total Payments made to Guardians £831 8s. 0d.
Day Nurseries
Day nursery accommodation for children of working mothers and others
is still much sought after and is easily the most popular method of daily
minding.
This year 39 applications for admission concerning 46 children had to
be refused as not complying with the necessary conditions for admission.
In all these cases either daily guardian or other arrangements were made.
No application was refused where health or social conditions were such
as to come within the scheme. There are, however, a substantial number
of enquiries made by parents who wish to improve their position either
by saving money for house purchase or similar purpose.
During the year the number of coloured children admitted has increased
and they attract attention in each nursery. Nursery matrons state
that there are certain features connected with these children which call
for different handling. Coloured children appear to take longer to settle
in and are more demanding of staff time. They appear to be more affectionate,
more vigorous and physically more mature. For this reason
attempts have been made to up-grade them to the next age group, without
success. Experience shows that they are more dependent, that their
mental growth does not conform with their physical advancement and
therefore they do not easily fit into the higher age group. These children
are quite popular with the staff and the other children.
Handicapped Children. There has been a slight rise in the number
of handicapped children admitted to the nurseries solely on medical
grounds. They include hearing children of deaf parents who have the opportunity
in the nurseries of developing a reasonably correct speech pattern
instead of remaining retarded. Others include children who were disabled
by poliomyelitis, cerebral palsy and mental retardment. All these children
have made very considerable progress. On the whole they are accepted
and helped by the other children and the devoted attention of members
of the day nursery staff. The acceptance of such children in a nursery
involves certain adjustments such as arranging for individual responsibility
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