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103
EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.
During the year 78 juveniles appeared before the Court
compared with 88 for the previous year. The prevailing offence
for which they were charged was larceny.
STATEMENT ON PHYSICAL EDUCATION.
In our statement for last year's Report we referred at some
length to the broad principles and aims of Physical Education
and to the disastrous effects of the recent war conditions on
their realisation and development.
It is our intention on this occasion to limit our observations
to a brief review of the progress which has been made during
the past year and to draw attention to some of the difficulties
which are still providing a handicap to the subject's general
recovery.
Physical Training.
(a) Infant Schools and Nursery Classes.
One of the most difficult problems for the teacher of very
young children is that of securing a satisfactory balance between
formal exercise and informal activity. While the latter
should be regarded as the keynote of all infant work, the
teacher should not lose sight of the value of those fundamental
skills which, while requiring a certain formality of approach,
provide an important foundation for the child's further
development.
The wider use of small aparatus—small and large balls, hoops,
skipping ropes, and small mats, etc., has been more in
evidence, and has done much to improve the general spirit of
the lessons and the dexterity of the children.
For nursery classes there is a need for improved facilities
Particularly playrooms, small gardens, hygienically maintained
sand-pits and simple climbing apparatus.