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HOME AND HOSPITAL TUITION
Under Section 56 of the Education Act, 1944, a local education authority has
power to provide primary and secondary education otherwise than at school and
home and hospital tuition was provided for a number of children because of special
circumstances.
CHILDREN UNSUITABLE FOR EDUCATION AT SCHOOL
Under Section 57 (amended) of the Education Act, 1944, it is the duty of the
local education authority to ascertain which children in their area are suffering
from a disability of mind of such a nature or to such an extent as to make them
unsuitable for education at school and cause the decision to be recorded and to
furnish to the local health authority a report of the decision. Eleven such cases
were notified.
VACCINATION AND IMMUNISATION
Details of the arrangements for vaccination and immunisation under Section
26 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, are given elsewhere in this report.
Under these arrangements children, by the time they are admitted to school, should
have received primary immunisation, but consent forms for diphtheria, tetanus and
poliomyelitis immunisations are issued to all school entrants in order to try to
ensure that all children whose parents have not yet taken advantage of the facilities
available may have this further opportunity. In addition, further consent forms for
diphtheria and tetanus immunisations are issued for children of eight years of age
for reinforcing doses.
Under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, authority has been
given to local health authorities to offer B.C.G. vaccination against tuberculosis to
contacts, staff likely to be exposed to infection, certain groups of children and
students attending establishments of further education. Included in these groups
are school children between their 13th and 14th birthdays. It is at this time of life,
when the adolescent faces the years during which he is both susceptible and most
likely to be exposed to infection, that the protection afforded by B.C.G. vaccination
proves so valuable.
During the year 2,220 pupils about 13 years of age attending maintained and
independent schools were given B.C.G. vaccination.
Of the 3,181 children eligible for B.C.G. vaccination, the parents of 78-21%
consented to have a tuberculin skin test carried out. 88.65% of the children so
tested were found to require B.C.G. vaccination and 88.20% of those tested were
vaccinated.
In September B.C.G. was offered to students at both the technical colleges.
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