View report page

6. DAY CARE OF CHILDREN
THE DAY NURSERY SERVICE
The Day Nursery Service is provided by the Council for the day care of children
aged three months to five years, whose family or home circumstances prevent normal
care in their own homes.
The circumstances governing admission to a day nursery are as follows:—
(a) Where the mothers are unsupported, e.g., unmarried, widowed, divorced,
separated or deserted, and who must of necessity go out to work.
(b) Where the home conditions are in themselves unsatisfactory from a
health point of view.
(c) Where mothers, by reason of their own ill-health or absence from the
home, are incapable of undertaking the full care of their children.
(d) Where the child itself is mentally or physically handicapped and in
particular is deaf, or partially deaf, partially sighted, or has deaf and dumb
parents.
(e) Where the child is maladjusted.
(f) Where the mother is compelled to go to work as an economic necessity
because the father is unemployed or has a low income, provided the mother is
employed for at least 30 hours per week.
If, at any one time, all children coming within the above priority categories have
been accommodated, children of two years and over can be admitted where both
parents are working, on the understanding that the place will be forfeited should a
priority case need to be admitted

The day nurseries are open from 7.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. Each
nursery is approved by the Ministry of Health for a definite number of places to
which 20 per cent, is added to give a "maximum" number of places. This 20 per
cent, allows for emergency admissions, e.g., mother going into hospital, and is offset
against the fact that it is unlikely for the total number of children on the register to
attend every day.
Three of the day nurseries are recognized as Training Nurseries and these are
marked with an asterisk. Student nursery nurses receive their theoretical training
at Chiswick Polytechnic, attending two days per week over two years.
25