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HEALTH EDUCATION
The two notable features of 1967 from a health education point of view were
an increase in the number of visitors and students, especially from overseas,
and a closer liaison with the Education Department in general and the teaching
staffs in particular.
Although a full establishment of staff was maintained for the whole year
(apart from a very short period between the departure of Mr. Cross the
Technician/Driver and the arrival of his replacement Mr. Phillips) it was not
possible to meet all requests for assistance. As a result, some schools had to
be cut down from a weekly programme to a fortnightly one and some cut out
altogether. The one item which expanded was in-service training and this was
done in the hope that in future years teachers would be able to undertake some
of the talks at present dealt with by health staffs.
Health Education in Schools
Full programmes were provided in ten schools, and short programmes of
three or four talks in a further six. In almost every case the talks given by
our staff were part of a complete health education programme agreed with the
head teacher and integrated into the general curriculum. By this means the
teaching staff were able to "follow-up" the health talks and to bring to our
notice points which required further elaboration. In many schools considerable
flexibility was achieved in health education programmes, topics which the pupils
themselves felt to be important being discussed when appropriate.
A new child care course for senior girls of lesser academic ability,
leading to a basic examination arranged by the National Association for Maternal
& Child Welfare was carried out in one school. This was so successful that it
is now included in their regular health education programme.
Arrangements were made with the head teachers of two other schools for the
television programme "Understanding" to be used as the basis of a series of
discussions on human relationships. This was a very interesting experiment
from the point of view of both pupils and staff.
A meeting between head teachers of secondary schools and representatives
of the Health and Education Departments was held in October and proved to be
very useful. The desire of teachers for more information on the content of
modern health education was apparent, and it is hoped in the future to produce
some literature on the subject as well as to provide further in-service training.
At the request of a school Parent Teacher Association a talk and film show
were given on drug dependence.
In-Service Training
Four courses were arranged during the year, two being on psychology and
health education for teachers taking the Post-Graduate Certificate of Education.
Another was designed for domestic science and other teachers training students
for the G.C.E. '0' level examination in human biology which includes a certain
number of health topics.
A seminar on drug addiction was held in the Assembly Hall, Barking, where
some 200 people including members of the Council, magistrates, probation
officers, doctors, teachers, mental welfare officers, health visitors, public
health inspectors and some visiting students, listened to a talk by a consultant
psychiatrist.
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