View report page

20
Rules of Admission
The main principle for admission to day nurseries is the health of the mother or child. Children
from 0 to 5 years of age are accepted under the following conditions:—
Their mothers are unsupported, cannot look after their children adequately, or the home conditions
are unsatisfactory. In addition, there is no other satisfactory way of caring for the child, the child's health
will not be affected, the mother will be assisted in the support of the child, and she will work for at least 30
hours per week.
If there are still some vacancies, children over 2 years of age can be admitted where their parents
are willing to pay the full cost.
Application for Admission
Less than two-thirds of the children of applicants were actually admitted (Table 68). Table 69
shows the reasons for non-admission of the remaining third.
Practically all those on the registers were in the priority groups and almost one-half of the children
came from homes where the mother was the sole support (Table 70).
Assessed Daily Charge
The maximum daily charge remains at 13/0d. Applicants unable to pay the assessed charges can
appeal at a meeting of the Appeals Sub-committee.
Attendances
Most of the places in the day nurseries were filled regularly (Table 67).
Infectious Diseases
Two nurseries had outbreaks of measles and two had outbreaks of chickenpox. There were a few
more cases of infectious disease involving one or two children who contracted their infection in their own homes
from other members of the family (Table 71).
Staff
The staff is based on one non-domestic for every three children under 2 and one for eight children
over 2, but the total must not exceed one for every five children in the nursery. Two students are counted
as one trained staff.
The number of staff employed during the year varied according to the number of children on the
registers and the establishment and position at the end of the year is shown in Table 72.
Five nurseries are approved as training schools for the 2-year Nursery Examination Board Course.
The students attend Chiswick Polytechnic for 2 days weekly. Twenty-four students were in training during
the year and 10 of these obtained the N.N.E.B. certificate. The remaining 14 students have not yet completed
their period of training.
CONVALESCENCE
Under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act, patients may be recommended for a short
term stay in a convalescent holiday home. Normally these patients are those recovering from a serious illness
or operation, and require only rest, fresh air and good food to complete treatment.
Applications are received from Private Practitioners, Hospitals and from Clinics, and approved
recommendations are forwarded to the County Medical Officer who arranges homes suitable to the individual
cases.
If a reduction in the standard charge of £5 5s. 0d. is required, applicants have to complete an
economic circumstances form and they are assessed by the Divisional Finance Officer. A request may also
be made for payment of travelling expenses.
Number of recommendations:—
Adults 104
Children 30
134
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE (Tables 73-88)
Routine Medical Inspection (Tables 73-78).
Children in the 12-13 age group attending Grammar Schools were included in routine medical
inspections, which means these children will be seen once before their "Leavers" examination, which normally
takes place during the year in which they attain the age of 16 years.