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78
Adequate rest and sleep, well balanced diet, cleanliness and competent handling are all
indispensable to the child's well-being. As the varying home circumstances of the children in the
nursery and control classes inevitably modified the results obtained during the experimental
year, it has been attempted to group them into three classes : " good homes," " average homes,"
" unsatisfactory homes." This was possible with the help of the care committee secretary, who
knew all the home circumstances intimately. Twenty per cent, of both classes had "good homes,"
37 per cent, of the nursery and 47 per cent, of the control class had " average homes," whilst 43
per cent, of the nursery and 33 per cent, of the control class had " unsatisfactory homes." Here
it is again apparent that the nursery class had a more unfavourable composition than the control
class.
The children in both classes were weighed and measured every four weeks during the experimental
year. There was a general steady gain in height and weight. The results in both classes are
so close as to make any discrimination of superiority of little value.
The average gains in weight, from June 1936, to June, 1937, were : nursery class, 2.86 kg.;
control class, 2.60 kg. The average gains in height, for the same period, were: nursery class,
5.94 cm.; control class, 6.15 cm. The weight average for the nursery class rose from .94 kg.
below to .12 kg. above the London average standard. The control class average weight rose
to a lesser extent from .4 kg. below to .19 kg. above the standard.
The children in the nursery class all received one teaspoonful of cod-liver oil and ⅔-pint of
milk daily, a daily apple and a rusk supplied the incentive for healthy mechanical action of the
jaws, and, in addition, daily cleansing of teeth at school was the rule. With these advantages, the
nursery class might be expected to show a superiority over the control class children as regards
incidence and spread of dental decay. This was, however, not the case, and the occurrence of
decay was approximately the same in both classes. The cause for this failure must be looked for
in the many factors which play a part in the onset and prevalence of the condition, such as : previous
illness, home feeding, heredity, vitamin D intake, etc. In spite of these negative results,
it may be surmised that the calcification of the permanent (unerupted) teeth will be improved, a
possibility which, however, would only become apparent later.
A daily return of absences and causes of absence was kept by each class mistress, and in this
way a complete list of all illnesses occurring during the experimental year was obtained. The control
class suffered heavier casualties than the nursery class, the number of cases of infectious illness in
the two classes beine as follows :—
Nursery class Control class
Upper respiratory infection (i.e., colds and
sore throats) 24 51
Mumps 5 3
Whooping-cough 1 10
Chickenpox 1 2
Infantile paralysis 1 0
Diphtheria 0 1
The above figures relate to all the children attending the two classes and not to the 16 children
in each class used for comparative investigation in the rest of the report.
The marked superiority of the nursery class as regards low incidence of infection may fairly
be ascribed to the special care exercised in the nursery class, particularly the daily visit of the
trained nurse.
In conclusion, two facts stand out: the marked improvement in nutrition of the nursery class
group, and their satisfactory health record for the year.
The Raleigh
nursery
classes
In connection with the two nursery classes for 80 children opened towards the
end of 1936 at the Raleigh school, Mile End, it was arranged to make a comparison
between the work of the classes and that of similar groups of children at the Old
Church Road nursery school. The experiment was conducted over a period of one
year from January, 1937.
The work of the visiting school nurse is shown in the following report:—
The average time spent daily was one hour, from 9.0 to 10.0 a.m. On an average, there were
71 children on the roll, and the attendance was 56. The daily routine was as follows : (1) Interviewing
and advising mothers. (2) General inspection of children in classrooms. (3) Attention to
minor ailments (average 15 daily)—eyes, ears, skin, sores, etc.
Personal hygiene received attention once a week and made very satisfactory progress.
Weighing and measuring took place once a month.
Each child was medically examined in detail once a term, and frequently re-inspected.
Parents attended the first inspection, and at any of the following, if necessary, or if they wished
to see the doctor.
The following treatments were given during the year: tonsils and adenoids (operative), 9 ;
teeth, 20 ; squints, 4 ; warts, 1 ; ringworm of neck, 1 ; scabies, 4.