London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Age groups | (1) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) | (3) | ||||||||
| Boys | Girls | Total | Boys | Girls | Total | Boys | Girls | Total | |
| Nursery (under five's) | 4,424 | 4,208 | 8,632 | 225 | 183 | 408 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 4.7 |
| Entrants | 19,213 | 18,210 | 37,423 | 1,708 | 1,206 | 2,914 | 8.9 | 6.6 | 7.8 |
| Seven-year.olds | 17,685 | 16,574 | 34,259 | 3,664 | 3,012 | 6,676 | 20.7 | 18.2 | 19.5 |
| Eleven-year.olds | 16,996 | 17,037 | 34,033 | 5,025 | 4,746 | 9,771 | 29.6 | 27.9 | 28.7 |
| Leavers | 13,007 | 12,643 | 25,650 | 3,917 | 3,982 | 7,899 | 30.1 | 31.5 | 30.8 |
| Total | 71,325 | 68,672 | 139,997 | 14,539 | 13,129 | 27,668 | 20.4 | 19.1 | 19.8 |
School meals, milk and vitamin supplements
A return to the Ministry of Education for a typical day in September, 1956, showed
that 227,417 pupils, 56.2 per cent, of the number present, were provided with school
dinners; of these 17,670 received dinners free of charge. On the same day, 361,942
children had school milk, including some children absent through sickness whose milk
was collected for them. Vitamin capsules are supplied daily without charge to children
recommended for them by the school medical officer ; other children whose parents so
desire may have them on payment of 1s. a term.
In October, 1956, meals were being produced at 613 kitchens (including nine
central kitchens) and served to children at 967 separate premises. During the course of
the year over 48½ million meals were served to children, teachers and staff and the
output of middav dinners to children reached a record daily figure of 227.700.
The school meals service aims at concentrating the maximum food value into the quantity of food a child is willing to eat and the following standards have been set :
| Age group | Minimum number of calories |
|---|---|
| Under 7 years | 500 |
| 7 to 11 years | 650 |
| Over 11 years | 800 |
Meals for children are planned to contain, as a minimum, 20 grammes of protein,
25 grammes of fat and 400 milligrammes of calcium. The diet of the children taking
meals was under the supervision of the Council's Honorary Nutritional Consultant,
Dr. T. S. Macrae, O.B.E., D.Sc. To provide a check on the standards of meals served,
random samples were analysed from time to time by the Council's Scientific Adviser.
Vision
All school pupils, other than entrant infants, have their distant visual acuity tested by
the school nurse by means of Snellen test charts, those pupils who have spectacles
wearing them for the test. This is carried out at the time of the routine age group general
medical inspection and, in cases of sub.normal vision, the result of the test is checked
by the school doctor. The charts used by the Council are double sided, having lower
case script lettering on one side and plain block capitals, without serifs, on the other, as
it has been found that children have less difficulty with such types of letters than with
the classical Snellen types.
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