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of teeth, nails, wrists and also ears, are points carelessly missed
by the average school boy and girl. Attention must also be paid
to the tidiness of clothing and to the proper fastening of boots
and shoes.
Where head infestation is discovered a personal visit is made
to the parent and detailed advice regarding treatment is given
at once. The co-operation of parents over the matter of cleansing
heads unfortunately infested, has been, with few exceptions, so
good that to date it has been unnecessary to issue a notice of
compulsory cleansing (Section 54, Education Act, 1944). Difficulties
occur where the root cause of the trouble is a family one. Teenage
daughters who do not adequately brush and comb their
permanently waved hair, are the most common of all. These
offenders are usually at work and often harbour head-lice unbeknown
to mother and pass on the trouble to the school-children
where it is discovered at a routine examination in school.
A systematic method of following up every discovered case
has been adopted and the percentage of total school-children in
the district found to be in need of treatment during 1948 was
0.61. This figure is recorded with the hope that, low as it may
appear, it will soon be much lower.
Thanks are due to the co-operation of Head Teachers and
their staffs who have so willingly given every possible help to
the two Health Assistants and thereby enabled them to carry
through a comprehensive system of inspection.
5. HANDICAPPED PUPILS. A table is presented in the
Appendix giving the numbers of handicapped pupils known to the
department — 59 males and 55 females have been dealt with.
Generally, it is pertinent to remark upon the present insufficient
number of places, both in residential and in day schools, for
handicapped children. Many of the children recorded as being in
attendance at maintained schools are, in fact, awaiting appropriate
places in special schools.
6. It is considered most important that the Medical Officers
and Health Visitors on their visits to the schools and at the
Clinic Sessions use every opportunity for a complete co-operation
with the parents and teachers and there is evidence that this is
being gradually obtained, for example, the number of pupils
attending Clinic Sessions has increased considerably.
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