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SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE
Pupils on school rolls—In January, 1962 there was a total of 422,622 pupils on the day
school roll; 230,134 in primary schools, 182,248 in secondary schools, 1,790 in nursery
schools and 8,450 in special schools. In January, 1961 there were 428,591 pupils on the roll.
Ministry of Education circular 14/61 and Ministry of Health circular 23/61—These
administrative circulars, relating to young children handicapped by impaired hearing, in
which local authorities were asked to review their existing services in consultation with
Local Medical Committees and hospital authorities, are referred to on page 49.
Medical inspection
Details of medical inspections during 1961 are summarised and compared with those
for earlier years in the tables below. Since 1958 periodic general medical inspections have
been analysed by year of birth to conform with Ministry of Education requirements, but
to facilitate annual comparisons the year of birth has been turned into 'age' (by subtracting
year of birth from year of inspection) in the tables throughout this section of the report.
The Council's revised scheme for the medical inspection of schoolchildren came into
operation on 1 January, 1959 and one effect was to make the intermediate periodic inspections
a year later in the child's school life. Consequently fewer inspections were carried
out during 1959 than in 1960; in 1960 the normal pattern was resumed, but on the new
time-table. It will be seen from the following table that intermediate inspections now
are each spread over two age-groups because the school year begins in September. The
number of children seen at periodic general medical inspections in 1961 was 38.7 per cent.
of the school roll, compared with 35.2 per cent. in 1960 and 31.4 per cent. in 1959.
Another effect of the revised scheme was to abolish nutrition reinspections and none
is now recorded. Ordinary reinspections showed a fall of almost 7 per cent. from the 1960
figure and fewer 'special' inspections were carried out. It is of interest that of the 11,837
special inspections, half were requested by head teachers, nearly a quarter by school health
visitors and one-eighth by parents.