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On the waiting list there are eight Edmonton children and nineteen
Enfield children. The above figures indicate that the number of children
from Edmonton attending the school is increasing. During 1947 25 Edmonton
children were admitted and 6 Enfield.
The proportion of Edmonton and Enfield children in the school is
approximately equal. In 1943 the ratio was 3 Enfield to 1 Edmonton. This
does not necessarily indicate that in recent years there has been an increase
in Educational Subnormality, but rather that more children are being detected
in the normal schools.
It is most important that we should receive these children at about
the age of eight years so that we have them over a period of eight years before
they reach the age of 16. Children who are sent to us at the ages of 12,
13, 14 are at a grave disadvantage. They have lost the groundwork and take
a very long while to settle down in their new surroundings and also they create
a problem in the school from the administrative standpoint.
Since September, 1947, most of the children have been brought to
school by private coach from various picking-up points in the Edmonton
district. This arrangement is certainly a great improvement upon the old
method of public service transport. As the children grow and become more
responsible they are allowed to travel on their own after consultation with
Dr. Regan."
(l) School Meals and Milk.
During the year 1,207,354 dinners were supplied to school children
in Edmonton. Of these 71,101 were provided free of charge to necessitous
cases. The average number of children receiving meals daily at the end
of the year was 5,556 (48.1% of the children in school).
The increased demand for school meals during the year placed a heavy
strain on the kitchens and as it had not been possible to make a start on the
scheme to increase and improve the canteen facilities in schools, it became
necessary to restrict the output of dinners to 5,300 daily and to limit the
number of children commencing dinners to those coming within certain priority
categories, e.g., neither parent at home during the day, living a long distance
from school, etc. Later in the year the supply of dinners was supplemented
when the neighbouring authority of Southgate agreed to supply up to 250
meals daily.
The number of children receiving milk daily under the Milk in Schools
scheme was 11,526 (98.3% of the children in Junior and Infants Departments
and 78.4% in Secondary Schools).