London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Haringey 1966
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Haringey]
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SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE
School Population
The school population for the Borough on the 19th January, 1967 was 34,314, as shown in the following table:-
| Primary Schools and Nursery Classes | 19,712 |
| Nursery Schools | 229 |
| Secondary Modern Schools | 9,051 |
| Secondary Grammar Schools | 4,990 |
| Special Schools: Physically Handicapped | 94 |
| Blanche Nevile School for the Deaf (including classes for the partially hearing) | 119 |
| Suntrap Residential Open Air School | 119 |
| 34,314 |
Periodic Medical Inspection
Periodic medical inspections are at present carried out four times during the pupils' school life
on school entry; during the first year in the primary junior school; during the first year in secondary
school and during the last year at school.
To cope with the steady influx of children throughout the year, medical officers visit the infant
schools each term. The facsimile questionnaire in the Greek language has been a great success, is
liked by the parents concerned and has led to a more helpful exchange of information.
Experiments with the system of medical examination of pupils by selection have continued. In
this system children are selected for examination by the medical officer as a result of answers to
questionnaires sent to the parents, teachers and school nurses. It would seem that the most suitable
time in the child's school life for "selective" examination is in his or her last year in the primary school.
The Head Teacher knows the pupil well and has learned something of the family. We are hoping to expand
examination extensively at this age level. This will call for a great deal of re-organisation of the whole
system of routine medical examination and will take some time to put into effect.
It is our hope that as a result of such examination we will be able to pass on to the new comprehensive
schools a fuller account of individual children's health and needs.
The following table shows the number of children inspected by years of birth and the classification of their physical condition:-
| Year of Birth | Number of pupils inspected | Physical condition of Pupils inspected | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | ||||
| Number | % | Number | % | ||
| 1962 & Later | 42 | 42 | 100 | - | - |
| 1961 | 394 | 389 | 98.7 | 5 | 1.3 |
| 1960 | 1916 | 1908 | 99.6 | 8 | 0.4 |
| 1959 | 817 | 815 | 99.8 | 2 | 0.2 |
| 1958 | 2029 | 2025 | 99.8 | 4 | 0.2 |
| 1957 | 929 | 927 | 99.8 | 2 | 0.2 |
| 1956 | 217 | 217 | 100 | - | - |
| 1955 | 646 | 644 | 99.7 | 2 | 0.3 |
| 1954 | 683 | 682 | 99.9 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1953 | 332 | 332 | 100 | - | - |
| 1952 | 267 | 267 | 100 | - | - |
| 1951 & earlier | 3039 | 3035 | 99.9 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Total | 11311 | 11283 | 99.8 | 28 | 0.2 |
In the Appendix to this report will be found an analysis of the defects found to require treatment or
observation.
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