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92
School Medical Officer of the Inner London Education Authority
for the area and is responsible to that Authority for the day-to-day
running of the Service.
Under the Education Act of 1944, Section 48, the local education
authority is required to provide for the medical inspection of
pupils attending maintained schools or colleges. In accordance
with this requirement the school physicians carry out periodic and
selective examinations, with the object of assessing whether, both
physically and mentally, the pupil is in a fit condition to attain
the maximal benefit from standard methods of education. A
satisfactory physical condition was recorded in 99.6% of children
attending schools in Wandsworth during 1968, compared with
99.5% in 1967.
Compared with the schoolchild of former generations, the
modern schoolchild shows considerable improvement in hygiene
and physical well-being. Perhaps in the light of this improvement
more attention is now directed towards the management of children
with behaviour problems. To some extent, distorted patterns
of behaviour may be correlated with the stress engendered by
living in the twentieth century and the risk of exposure to the
harmful influence of tobacco and drugs.
Active steps have been taken in order to help those children who
suffer from the effects of disordered behaviour. To this end, much
good work has been accomplished at the child guidance units
including the Wandsworth Town Child Guidance Unit, which was
opened in January and which is the only self-contained purposebuilt
clinic of its kind in the Inner London area. Consultations
have been held with the Divisional Education Officer, and arrangements
are in hand for members of the medical and nursing staff
to meet Headmasters and Headmistresses in order to discuss
methods of health education and the techniques which are most
likely to prove effective in combating adverse trends in behaviour
patterns among schoolchildren.
The Principal Dental Officer reports favourably upon the expansion
of the dental inspection programme in schools, but less
favourably upon the number of children who are in need of treatment.
With the co-operation of parents, however, it is to be
hoped that a greater proportion of children will attend for treatment
next year.
Statistics concerning infectious diseases indicate a decrease in the
number of cases of measles, a decrease which was expected in
view of the regular rise and fall in incidence which characterizes the
epidemiology of this disease. A sharp increase occurred in the
incidence of German measles and, as compared with 1967, in 1968
there were more cases of chicken-pox, scarlet fever, impetigo and
scabies. On the other hand, the reports show a diminution in the