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63
Special Enquiries.
Report on the Investigation into the Causes of
Absence from School.
To determine the causes of absence from school
and the incidence of the various causes, observations
were made with respect to four schools. One, Little
Ealing, with three departments, was taken as representing
a working-class neighbourhood where there
are to be found some of the poorest in the town ; the
second, Lammas, also with three departments, was
considered as drawing upon a good working-class
population with some belonging to the artisan-class and
small shop-keepers; and the third, St. Stephen's,
comprising a boys' department, and fourth, North
Ealing, comprising girls' and infants', were considered to
supply a better-class neighbourhood where the population
consists of clerks, artisans and small shop-keepers,
with a very few belonging to the working-classes.
The observations were continued for ten complete
weeks, from the week ending the 4th February to the
week ending the 18th April, with an interval of two
weeks from the 18th March due to the intervention
of the Easter holidays.
In Table I. are compared for all four schools the
percentages of absences due to various causes. It will
be seen that in all departments the highest percentage,
and it is particularly notable, occurs opposite " Coughs,
Colds, Bronchitis," that group-cause being highest
for North Ealing Infants' School, where one would
expect the parents to exercise most care over their
children and to keep them at home when affected
in the slightest degree. The next important cause is
" Infectious Disease," and from this group-cause