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89
4. Before proceedings are taken the excluded children
are re-examined, those found clean are re-admitted, and the
parents of the remainder are prosecuted for the non-attendance
of their children at school.
This scheme works fairly well, especially since the
appointment of the School Nurse who visits in the homes and
shows the mothers how to best carry out treatment. The
special difficulty of the district is owing to its industrial
character as we mentioned in last year's report. Where the
women are employed in the laundries there is much difficulty
in finding the mothers at home, and the process of cleansing
is rendered more arduous when carried out in the evenings by
an insufficient artificial light. It must also be remembered
that although there are a number of cases recorded in the
present report as verminous still the standard of cleanliness
required is much higher than when medical inspection was
first organised.
In some of the schools a marked difference is observed in
the cleanliness of the body on different days of the week. If
the inspection takes place on a Monday or Tuesday there are
obvious signs of a recent and vigorous use of soap and water.
Ringworm. In view of the prolonged period during
which children are absent from school with this complaint we
have endeavoured to find some means of shortening the time
of absence as the educational loss was considerable. It has
been arranged that slight cases of ringworm are treated by the
School Xurse under the supervision of the S.M.O. In these
cases the children are not excluded from school but are kept
somewhat apart from the other scholars. This treatment has
been very successful, especially where the ringworm has
occurred on the face or hands, as the children are usually cured
in about a week instead of being absent for weeks or months
while undergoing home remedies of an unscientific nature.
In considering the possible objection which might be raised
to allowing children with an infectious complaint to remain in