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 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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School meals and milk
The Ministry of Education asked for a return for a typical day of the total number of (i) day school children who had school dinners and (ii) children who had school milk. The day selected for the census was 26 September or the nearest normal school day thereto. The figures are set out below with those for 1960 in brackets.
| Type of school | Number of children present | Number who took school dinners | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On payment | Free | Total | % | ||
| Secondary | 173,329 | 103,139 | 7,470 | 110,609 | 63.81 |
| Primary | 205,994 | 109,150 | 12,382 | 121,532 | 59.00 |
| Special | 5,585 | 4,411 | 1,098 | 5,509 | 98.64 |
| Nursery | 1,509 | 870 | 87 | 957 | 99.17 |
| 386,417 | 217,570 | 21,037 | 238,607 | 61.75 | |
The Ministry was informed that 316,826 children in Council maintained schools took
milk on the selected day(s) compared with 318,678 in September 1960. Of 28,891 children
present in independent schools, 22,438 had milk under the scheme.
The percentages for the several types of school for the corresponding days were:
| 1960 | 1961 | |
|---|---|---|
| Secondary | 66.05 | 63.12 |
| Primary | 96.32 | 96.51 |
| Day special | 98.47 | 99.18 |
| Nursery | 98.51 | 98.67 |
| Boarding | 98.51 | 97.52 |
| Independent | 74.60 | 77.66 |
Vision
Visual acuity standards expressed as percentages of the numbers of children whose eyes
were tested are set out in the following table.
For children not wearing spectacles the highest rate of referral for treatment is at age
under 7 (entrants), but this is because vision testing at this young age is not general and
tends to be confined to those in whom there is a suspicion of defective vision. In general,
the referral rate for treatment is fairly consistent throughout the age range, i.e., development
of defective vision is progressive with age, since those found to have defective vision
at earlier examination and provided with spectacles will be excluded from this side of the
table at subsequent examinations.
For children already wearing spectacles the proportions referred for treatment increase
with age, doubtless for correction of refraction.
Of the children medically inspected 0.6 per cent. were noted for treatment of squint,
the same as in 1958, 1959 and 1960. The percentage ranged from 1.3 in the entrant group
to 0.1 in the leaver group.
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