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have installed hot water supplies and various methods of supplying
soap and towels have been tried. It will be of the greatest interest
to compare costs and headteachers evaluations of the different methods
in due course.
Toilets
It is perhaps unreasonable to expect such rapid improvements in
toilet facilities, since these often involve considerable expense which
Governors and Managers may be unwilling to incur in old property
which they hope to replace. It is unfortunately in these oldest schools
where conditions are worst. You have very high standards where
your public conveniences are concerned—rightly so. In almost everything
else your motto is "only the best for Barking—and extra best
for the children" which encourages me to feel that you will insist on
improvements before long.
Plimsolls and Athletes Foot
The investigation of the problems of sterilizing plimsolls made
rather slow headway during the year, owing to the necessity of fitting
this in with other routine work. As part of the first stage of the
investigation, figures for the routine foot inspections carried out by
Dr. Adamson have been kept separately for each age group of children.
These have confirmed our impression that athletes foot is virtually
non-existent in infant schools, that the incidence (even including very
mild cases) is as low as 1% in the younger children in junior schools,
but that it rises steadily in older age groups to reach a figure approaching
9% in the senior secondary school children.
The main difficulties occasioned by your decision to prohibit the
transfer of plimsolls from child to child have arisen in the infant
schools—for here rate of growth is the most rapid. There would
appear to be little chance of obtaining an increased capitation allowance
to permit heads to purchase adequate numbers of plimsolls, and
I believe you consider it undesirable to ask parents to provide them
It would be tragedy if physical education were to be restricted on
account of a decision taken by you with the best of motives. I hesitate
to advise you to allow plimsolls to be passed from child to child wit
out having completed our projected investigations, but the position
in infant schools particularly may force you to this decision before
long.
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