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(3) Children with Heart Disease.—A few children are born with
serious heart disease and will always need care. There are also
many children who have suffered from rheumatism and who have
sustained permanent damage to the heart. These children require
continuous care in order to maintain their general health and to
avoid overstrain. For some of these children an open air school
is very advantageous.
Estimate of Children for Whom Provision Should be Made.
(1) Physically Defective Children.—At the end of the year there
were five such children at special residential schools. It is considered
that two of these could be taught in an open air school.
There were also 24 children with physical defects attending
ordinary schools who would benefit from a stay at an open air
school.
(2) Delicate Children.—There were 87 delicate children under
supervision who would benefit by a prolonged stay at an open air
school.
During the last year there were 49 children who were debilitated
to such a degree that they required treatment at a Convalescent
Home. Most of these children improved very much because of
their stay there, but it was often noticed that much of the good
that accrued was undone when they returned to uncongenial homes.
Some of these 49 children would have benefitted by a stay of longer
duration in an open air school on their return after convalescent
treatment.
There were 176 tonsil operations performed on children
attending Ealing Schools during 1937 and as previously mentioned
some of these and some of the children with middle ear disease
would have gained in health by a stay in an open air school.
During the last year 47 new cases of rheumatism of all degrees
of severity were discovered among the elementary school population.
Most of these children after recovery were most suitably dealt
with in the ordinary school, but some would have had a better
chance of complete recovery if they had had a period of supervision
in a special school.