View report page

122
Two years later in 1923 a suggestion was put forward that some of the movable wards at Dollis
Hill House Hospital might be used as an Open-Air School. The Education Committee took a favourable
view of the proposal but the Council, however, decided that the premises should be used for
scholars visiting the British Empire Exhibition.
In 1925 the Education Committee considered a site in Pound Lane but it was found to be
insufficient in area for the purpose of an Open-Air School.
In 1927 the Council resolved to purchase a parcel of land of 11½| acres in Neasden and to utilise
six acres of it for an Open-Air School, but it was subsequently ascertained that the land had been sold.
In June, 1936, the Medical Officer of Health was requested by the Children's Care Committee
to report, in conjunction with the Director of Education, on the question of a new Physically Defective
School.
Oldfield Road Physically Defective School.
The present physically defective school situated in part of the Oldfield Road School buildings is
not suitable for its purpose and owing'to insufficient space cannot be made suitable. There is no restshed.
In fine weather the children after the mid-day meal must rest in the playground and during
inclement weather in the hall and classrooms. The cloakroom accommodation is inadequate, the
playground is too small and unsuitable, and there are no facilities for lessons to be taken in the open air.
Types of physically defective children who would require to attend the proposed new Physically Defective
School.
At the present time the Oldfield Road Physically Defective School has accommodation for 165
children and there are 163 children on the school roll. (Eight of these attend by arrangement with the
Middlesex Education Committee.)
The following table is an analysis of these 163 children on the roll of the Oldfield Road P.D.
School, showing the types of physical defect and the number of children suffering from them :—
(1) Non-active tuberculosis of bones, joints and glands 22
(2) Various deformities, other than those coming under (1) 14
(3) Heart conditions, rheumatic or congenital in origin 52
(4) Certain chronic conditions, e.g., chronic lung conditions other
than tuberculosis, chronic rheumatism, chorea, kidney disease 25
(5) Paralysis 32
(6) Certain cases of anaemia, debility and other ill-defined conditions 18
Accommodation required.
In addition to the children now on the roll of the Oldfield Road Physically Defective School
there are approximately 320 delicate children attending the ordinary elementary schools in Willesden.
Each year the Education Committee send away 250 delicate children to convalescent homes for periods
of six weeks, and a number of these children would benefit by attendance for a time at the proposed new
Physically Defective School if built on a favourable site and on modified open-air lines. Accommodation,
therefore, in the new Physically Defective School should be for not less than 200 children.
Regime at the proposed new Physically Defective School.
Fresh air and sunlight it will be appreciated are only adjuncts to the treatment of these physically
defective children and the improvement in their health. Good feeding, rest, cleanliness and physical
exercises are equally important. At the Oldfield Road P.D. School the children arrive at 10 o'clock
in the morning and leave school again at 3.30 in the afternoon. As the period required for lessons is
two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon there remains only 1£ hours (12.15 p.m.—
1.30 p.m.) for the mid-day meal, followed by a rest period for some of the children. This mid-day
interval is inadequate. It should be at least two hours, one hour of which should be a rest period.
This would entail a school day from approximately 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The children should, therefore,
be provided at the school with a light, early lunch and tea in addition to dinner. Baths also should
be provided as they not only promote cleanliness but are beneficial to the children and aid in the
inculcation of hygienic principles.
Site.
The site selected should, if possible, slope towards the south and be protected by rising land
and by trees on its northern and eastern aspects. It is generally regarded that two acres is a minimum
for an open-air school, accommodating 100-120 children, to permit of the necessary garden space.
A school accommodating 200 children would, therefore, require a site of about three to four acres.
It is desirable that a portion of the playground should be asphalted, for this is essential for the physical
training lessons and the playing of games during wet weather.
Type of School.
The school should be built on the open-air principle with the classrooms facing south. It
should not be of the open-air type with classrooms in the form of shelters open on three sides, as
physically defective children suffering from rheumatic trouble, chorea and some forms of paralysis
are not suitable for education under these conditions. Verandahs along the classrooms except on the
north side, whether glazed or unglazed, obstruct the entry of the sun's rays during two-thirds of the
year and so are not to be recommended. The school should be single storied.