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Daily Guardian Scheme
This service continued to be extensively used by working
mothers. It enables them to make satisfactory arrangements for
the daily care of their children. In some instances, mothers make
use of this service whilst waiting for a suitable day nursery vacancy.
Many children are daily minded by guardians who do not seek registration.
Most of these give satisfactory care. Mothers are
advised to make alternative arrangements when it' is considered that
adequate care is not given.
Number of Daily Guardians on register 239
Number of Daily Guardians minding Children 78
Number of Children being minded 98
Total number of Children minded during the year 207
Total number of days minded 18,935
Day Nurseries
Applications for day nursery admissions far exceeded available
places, even in the priority categories. At the end of the year, 70
in the accepted categories were on the waiting list, a high proportion
of these being in the 0-2 age group. The closure of Plevna Day
Nursery and transfer to limited and smaller premises where it was
only possible to cater for children over two years of age, was only
partially responsible for the increased waiting list. The greatest
demand is from mothers solely supporting their children and immigrants.
In some instances, because of financial pressure, mothers have
placed their children with unsuitable daily minders. These arrangements
not infrequently break down, which must inevitably have repercussions
on the children. Other mothers, in spite of financial
hardships, prefer to wait until a vacancy occurs, because they consider
that day nursery care more adequately meets the need of their
children.
186 admissions were arranged during the year and approximately
one third of these admissions were children of immigrants. Of the
186 admissions, a high proportion, because of the different needs,
stayed in the nursery for varying lengths of time, from a few days
to several months. This continual change-over requires patience and
understanding on the part of the staff helping the children to settle in
their new surroundings.
Plevna Day Nursery
This nursery was closed in the middle of February and the
majority of the children under two years of age were transferred to
Park Lane Nursery. It was necessary for transport arrangements
to be made for these children because of the increased distance of
travelling involved. Parents were given adequate warning of the new
arrangements which went forward without difficulty. The remainder
of the children were transferred to the Cornwall Road premises which
had been adapted to accommodate 32 children over two years of age.
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