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128
PROVISION OF MEALS.
The Board of Education having intimated that in future
reports of School Medical Officers they will look for a section
dealing with the Act, I have visited the various feeding centres
and seen the children eating their dinners.
With two exceptions (Downsell Road and Farmer Road Schools,
where the Caretakers provide the meals) the children are fed at
various coffee-shops throughout the district.
COFFEE-SHOPS.
On the score of convenience and economy coffee shop feeding
doubtless has much to recommend it, but it does not lend itself
to the educational aspect of the question. I found that there
was practically no supervision. In only one instance did I find
a. teacher present.
The meals were served in a very rough and ready fashion,
a newspaper usually did duty for a table cloth ; and although
I admit I did not see any very flagrant cases of misbehaviour,
no effort to teach manners, &c., was observed.
No special accommodation was provided for the children
except in two instances: in one of these a separate room was set
apart, and in the other an out-house was used for the purpose.
The former was where I found the teacher present, and this,
as one would expect, was the best-conducted meal I observed
throughout my tour of inspections.
The latter (the out-house) was bare, cold, damp and cheerless,
and is in my opinion quite unfitted to be used as a dining-room.