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13
Former Name.
Central London District Schools.
Shoreditch Cottage Homes.
Islington Schools.
Islington Receiving Home.
Poplar Training School.
St. Pancras Schools.
Bethnal Green Children's Homes.
Holborn Schools.
Lambeth School.
Hackney Children's Homes.
Camberwell Scattered Homes.
Bermondsey Schools.
Greenwich Children's Homes.
Stepney Jewish Homes.
Stepney Homes.
New Name.
Hanwell Residential School.
Hornchurch Children's Home.
Andover Children's Home.
Hornsey Rise Children's Home.
Hutton Residential School, Essex.
Leavesden Residential School.
Leytonstone Children's Home.
Mitcham Children's Home.
Norwood Children's Home.
Ongar Residential School, Essex.
Peckham Children's Homes.
Shirley Residential School, near Croydon.
Lamorbey Residential School, Sidcup.
Stepney Children's Homes.
Stifford and Grays Children's Homes, Grays.
The institutions transferred from the guardians or joint district managers are
of varying type, some being on " barrack " lines, others being of the cottage home
type, whilst from the Metropolitan Asylums Board, the training ship "Exmouth"
(off Grays, Essex) was taken over by the Council. Education was provided for the
children either (a) within the institutions themselves or (b) by attending neighbouring
schools of the local education authority of the area where the school was situated,
and in one case where education was provided within the institution, children from a
nearby village attended the institution's school. Only 6 of these homes are situated
in London the remainder being distributed in neighbouring counties, and in assuming
control of these homes the Council became responsible not only for the education but
also for the health and domestic arrangements of a "family" of over 7,000 children.
Immediately the schools came under the control of the Council an enquiry into
the hygienic and medical arrangements was made by Dr. J. L. D. Fairfield and
Dr. Margaret Hogarth. At a later date (June, 1930) following on their reports, the
Council arranged for a consulting podiatrist, Dr. Donald Paterson, to make a preliminary
survey of the dietary and the arrangements for the general supervision
(medical and nursing) of the children in these residential schools.
Surveys of
schools.
Under the late authorities a medical officer had been appointed for each of the
schools and in most of the schools the medical officer visited the school each day
mainly to deal with ailing children but it was by no means universally the practice
to undertake a complete inspection of the children at regular intervals. The sections
of The Public Assistance Order, 1930, concerning residential schools and homes for
children provide (1) that every infant under the age of 18 months shall be examined
by a medical officer not less than once in every two weeks and (2) that every other
child shall be examined by a medical officer not less often than once in every 3
months.
Medical
supervision.
It was apparent that the medical inspection prescribed by the Order was not
being carried out in every instance. Further there appeared to be need for some
uniform method of recording these inspections (replacing the books, cards and case
sheets of differing design formerly used), and to regularise the arrangements made
for outside medical treatment when required. To discuss these and cognate matters
the medical officers of these homes were invited to attend a conference at the County
Hall in June, 1930.
Having had the advantage of hearing the views of the medical officers concerned
it has been possible to initiate a practical scheme for dealing with any contingencies
that may arise and for conforming to the rules laid down by the Public Assistance
Order. In the case of medical examinations the Education Committee with the
concurrence of the Central Public Health Committee (in whose care the Council's
administrative scheme places children in these schools under the age of 3) made the
following recommendation:—
(a) Every infant in the school or home under the age of 18 months shall
have a complete stripped examination by the medical officer not less than once
in every two weeks.