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115
Open days
and sales
of work
Parents and friends were invited to displays of work and sales of articles made at the
centres. Sales realised £3917s. 5d. at junior centres, £453 8s. 4d. (including £144 l1s. 6d.
for shoe repairs) at elder boys' centres and £119 15s. 6d. at elder girls' centres. At the
elder boys' centres some apparatus, furniture and toys were also made for the occupation
centre service.
Outings and
holidays
Owing to the absence of adequate outdoor recreation space at the centres, those
attending were again taken by school coach to nearby parks or open spaces during the
summer months, approximately once a fortnight, when the weather was suitable.
During May a party of 178 children and adults attending the centres, accompanied
by staff, again spent two weeks at a holiday camp at Dymchurch, Kent. The Council
bore the expenses of the staff and wholly or partly those of 47 necessitous children and
adults. Apart from three cases of infectious disease which developed during the period,
the holiday proved to be as successful as last year's and again drew the praise of the
Director of the camp for the organisation and conduct of the party.
Gifts
Some centres were provided with outings to a circus or a pantomime by parents'
associations and these associations presented a cinematograph projector to one centre
and a folding wooden slide to another.
Christmas
parties
Christmas parties and entertainments were arranged for all centres and parents and
friends were generous with gifts of extra food, sweets, etc., and some donations towards
the cost of entertain merit were rereiverl
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE
Organisation
During 1952 the school health service continued to carry out its prescribed role in the
examination and inspection of school children, the detection and arrangements for the
treatment of defects, the control of communicable disease in schools, and the examination
and recommendation for ascertainment of handicapped pupils.
The 'following-up' of children found at medical inspections to be in need of
treatment is the responsibility of the voluntary care committees. This work is regarded
by care committees as one of their most interesting responsibilities, and often results in
constructive family case work, including preventive measures. The care committees'
main channel of information is through the children's care organisers who work in the
public health department. There are now 2,330 voluntary workers, and the number is
steadily rising. This arrangement, unique to London, is a good example of service given
to the community by means of a partnership between official and voluntary workers.
Pupils on school rolls
At the end of 1952 there was a total of 425,362 pupils on the day school roll—302,998
children of primary and secondary school age were in attendance at County schools and
101,303 at voluntary or assisted schools; 14,436 children under five years of age in
nursery schools and classes or in primary schools and 6,625 children in day special schools.