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was made for all children excluded from attendance at school
on account of epidemic disease, but, unfortunately, this salutary
provision has been abolished, despite the protest, at the
time, of practically all Sanitary Authorities, who thereby lost
a most powerful lever in promoting the health of children
attending public elementary schools, by keeping away all
infectious and recently-convalescent scholars. To put the
matter strongly, a premium is offered to keep the school
attendances up at all costs, by compelling the attendance of
children who may be found at the time to be suffering from
doubtful illness, and whose presence in a school, or schools,
may cause the spread of infectious disease. The "Epidemic
Grant," as it was called, was regarded as a national insurance
against school infection, and, as such, was a sanitary
influence of very great practical value, being allowed to
schools where the average atendance had been seriously
diminished owing to the exclusion, under medical advice, of
infected children, or children from infected houses. By its
abolition, children now may return to school before they are
completely convalescent from acute infectious disease, whilst
it is exceedingly difficult to exclude from attendance at
school children, who, although apparently in fair health
themselves, are capable of spreading infection, either having
themselves recently suffered from slight attacks, or because
they have been recently in contact with cases of such disease.
In this connection reference may also be made to the new
amended regulations of the London County Council, and
certain other Educational Authorities, with respect to the
exclusion of children from infected houses — all children
(except infants) who have already suffered from infectious
disease being admitted to school from infected houses, the
evidence of having so suffered being the hearsay evidence
simply, in many cases, of the children's mothers.
Another way in which infectious diseases are spread at
some schools is through the attendance there of children
under five years of age. The age limit of school attendance
should be raised, as the present attendance of infants is
regarded by most sanitarians as a waste of money and a
danger to health—measles, whooping cough, and diphtheria
being specially prevalent and dangerous amongst children
under five years of age. The Education Acts have reference
only to children of five years and upwards, but
the method of giving grants also to children between
three and five years of age — a method adopted by