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169
Report of the County Medical Officer—Education.
Open-air Schools.
The two open-air schools maintained by the Council have been fully described in previous
reports. Both have been continued throughout the winter months. No difficulties have been
experienced, and the results upon the health of the children have been uniformly good.
The schools were visited once a fortnight by the doctors, and each child was seen at least once
in three months. At each visit the doctors also saw cases to which special attention was drawn by
the head teacher, nurse, or managing committee, and the doctors advised as to those children who
should be excluded, those fit to return to an ordinary elementary school, and those who should be
invalided. The results of medical inspection in the ordinary elementary schools have been such as
to show that there is a need for additional open-air schools, but although many enquiries have been made
it has not yet been possible to acquire suitable sites for additional open-air schools either north or south
of the Thames.
The Birley House and Shooters Hill schools were respectively under the medical supervision
of Dr. F. T. H, Wood and Dr. C. T. W. Hirsch, from whose reports the following particulars have
been taken.
Birley House School. In April, 1913, 17 scholars remained from the previous year and
another 57 were admitted after medical examination. The conditions determining their admission
may be grouped as under, some children being included in more than one class:—
Anæmia 36
Malnutrition and general poor physique 28
Phthisis 5
Recent surgical tuberculosis 5
Tubercular glands 3
Enlargement of glands (non-tubercular) 10
Other conditions 9
At various times during the year, additional children were taken in and 16 were returned fit
for the elementary schools, 5 were discharged by the managing committee as not taking full advantage
of the benefits of the school, 2 were invalided as unfit for any school attendance and 2 left on reaching
the age of 14. The usual medical and dental defects were discovered and reported on during the
periodic examinations and were in most cases remedied, particular attention being given to securing
treatment of the teeth.
At the end of the year all the children were re-examined and 48 were found fit for return to
the elementary schools, while 38 were continued for a longer period; this latter group included one
boy who had attended regularly for four years—a unique record in view of the fact that the open-air
school does not recognise the ordinary holidays. No observer could fail to be struck with the
improvement in the general bearing and appearance of the children, an improvement which
the following tabular statements mrtiallv illustrate.

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