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72
number of oases of diphtheria notified amongst the children attending the
Infants' Department of the Princess Road School. Certain of the class-rooms
were disinfected and the disinfectors reported that the rooms were in a very
dirty condition.
From this and other information your Public Health Committee came to the
conclusion that the washing out of schools and the systematic cleansing thereof
was not conducted in such a manner as to do all that was possible to minimise
the danger of the spread of infectious disease among school children, and being
strongly impressed with the necessity of arrangements being made for the
weeklyy washing out of all Infants' Departments of the schools, resolved that:—
(a) The London County Council be informed that the Borough Council
are dissatisfied with the arrangements at present made for the cleansing
of schools, and that they be asked to give instructions for the washing
out of all Infants' Departments once every week in future.
(i) A copy of the report of the Medical Officer of Health, and a copy of
the Disinfector's report as to the condition in which the two classrooms
at the Princess Road School were found by him, be forwarded
to the London County Council for their information.
Later, a communication was received from the Education Officer enclosing
copy of a revised scheme for the cleaning of Public Elementary Schools and
Centres, and the County Council's decision thereon.
The Education Officer stated that the decisions of the County Council were
the outcome of a full investigation and prolonged consideration of the position
and duties of school-keepers, and of the arrangements hitherto in force for the
cleansing of schools and centres. The chief object of the new scheme was to
raise the standard of cleanliness of the schools by allowing a considerably
augmented staff of women cleaners, by providing materials instead of making
payments to school-keepers for the purchase thereof, and by systematic inspection
of the condition of cleanliness of each school. It was estimated that an
additional sum of about £13,000 a year would be spent in wages of charwomen,
and that, generally speaking, each school would have allowed to it between 14
and 17 hours per week additional assistance by cleaners. A further important
provision in the scheme was that when school buildings were used for
purposes other than day school purposes, the County Council would employ
additional assistance necessary for the extra cleaning involved. All rooms are
swept and dusted daily in respect of their use for day school purposes and
again in respect of their use in the evenings. The general rule with regard to
the scrubbing in force is that every room must be scrubbed once in three
weeks, and babies' rooms in infants' departments once each week.
Your Public Health Committee expressed the hope that the arrangements
made by the County Council's new scheme would be efficacious in raising the
standard of cleansing of schools to a satisfactory level.