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entry to school, and valuable work in the discovery and
subsequent correction of defects is being done, thus
working towards a co-ordination of the two services. The
fact that the health visitor is also a school nurse materially
assists this co-ordination, and we do find that parents are
realising the importance of the services provided and are
making an increasing use of them. I would not suggest
that the co-ordination is complete, for in the care of the
2—5 year old children there is still much work to be done.
There are few nowadays who will deny the importance
of the years spent at school, or contest the fact that ill
effects in later life result from failure to counter during
the tender years the deleterious effects of ill-regulated
dietary, the lack of properly directed exercise, and, perhaps
above all, the neglect of the convalescence of minor
illness. Sir George Newman, when Chief Medical Officer
of the Hoard of Education, directed attention to the fact
that much labour, time and money had been devoted to
the treatment of the defective child, but feared that we
were not doing all that is practicable for the nutrition,
physical education, nurture and health of the normal
child. He wrote, "Yet if we are failing to ensure the
physical health of the normal child under fourteen years
of age, we must not complain or be surprised if such
neglect brings with it, in later years, a harvest of
preventable impairment or incapacity of body and mind."
Nevertheless the children in the State aided schools do
enjoy a good measure of well regulated hygienic routine
throughout their tender years of school age, a service
which goes far to make them fit citizens of the nation.
The need remains constant to improve, develop and apply
the fruits of scientific research for betterment of the
School Medical Service.
Whilst all this watchful guard is being exercised over
the physical well-being of the school population of the
State controlled schools, there is ever present the problem
of the private school child who is outside the provisions
of the State service and has no comparable substitute.
One cannot help being a little disturbed by the fact that
a by no means inconsiderable number of children pass
their early days in uncongenial surroundings with a
complete lack of the facilities conducive to physical