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62
Deaf children in day nurseries
Children under five years of age likely to benefit from being in
a hearing environment may be admitted for part-time attendance
at day nurseries, no charge being made for their attendances
except for any refreshments provided. They may have a hearing
defect themselves, or may have deaf parents and be suffering
from retarded speech owing to the lack of a hearing environment.
The admissions are normally limited to children under three
years of age, as children over that age are generally treated
through the education service and would be admitted to day
nurseries only with special justification and the prior consent of
the consultant otologist. Most of the children attend up to three
hours a day, but a child is occasionally allowed to stay for a
whole day provided that his weekly attendance is limited to 15
hours. During the year there were four such children in the
Council's nurseries, three of these being still in attendance at the
end of the year.
Private day nurseries and child-minders
At the end of the year there were 31 private day nurseries with
registered places for 734 children, 29 statutorily registered childminders
with places for 189 children, and 12 voluntarily registered
child-minders with places for 23 children. All three categories of
minders are regularly visited by the Council's medical staff and
health visitors, and advice is given on child care, immunization,
etc.
Occasional creches
These creches provide for the children of mothers attending a
clinic or class on the premises and also give occasional relief to
mothers who, for various reasons, such as visits to hospitals,
shopping, laundering and other domestic duties, wish to be relieved
of their young children for two or three hours during the day.
In addition, they provide an opportunity for an only child to
mix with other children of similar age. During the year 481 creche
sessions were held in the centres and attendances numbered 8,686.
Adoption and boarding-out
Medical advice is sought by the Children's Officer whenever a
child in care is being considered for adoption or boarding-out. The
number of cases dealt with during the year, and the decisions
reached, were as follows:—
Adoption cases:
Suitable for adoption 8
Suitable for adoption subject to certain conditions 5
Boarding-out cases:
Suitable for boarding-out 6
Suitable for boarding-out subject to certain conditions 5
Total 24