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128
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE
The Borough has a duty to provide for the medical inspection
at appropriate intervals and to make arrangements for securing
the provision of free medical and dental treatment to pupils in
attendance at Maintained Schools. The School Health Service,
under the direction of the Principal School Medical Officer, administers
these services on behalf of the Borough.
It is the aim of the School Health Service, in collaboration
with the Education Department, to be satisfied by means of these
medical examinations, that every child is able to receive the type
of education best suited to his age, aptitude and ability.
There are 34 Secondary Schools (including 2 Direct Grant)
and 88 Primary Schools in the Borough; also 3 special day schools
for educationally subnormal children.
In January there were 46,866 pupils (an increase of 1,315) on
the registers of the Maintained Primary Secondary, Special and
Nursery Schools.
It is the aim to give statutory routine medical inspections to
all pupils entering the infants' schools and to repeat these when
they reach the age of 10 years and 14 years. In addition at 8 years
of age pupils are given routine tests of vision and hearing alone; a
full medical examination is undertaken at this age only if, for any
reason, it appears necessary. Further, when at any time during a
child's school career the head teacher, parent or doctor is concerned
about the health of a particular child in relation to school
education or activity, arrangements are made for special examinations
to be carried out. Private schools may participate in the
School Health Service at request.
It has not been possible to complete the programme of routine
medical inspections envisaged at the beginning of the year. The
10-year-old medicals and autumn term entrant medicals have had
to be deferred. It is hoped naturally that these will be picked up
next year, but this is dependent on the recruitment of Medical
Officers to full establishment. However, priorities in the Service
were agreed giving pride of place to the B.C.G. vaccination against
tuberculosis and the newly introduced Rubella vaccination.
Following the introduction of the special Occluder and the
wider range of vision testing charts being made available, it would
appear that past difficulties which had occasionally been
experienced in obtaining the required standards for accurate vision
testing in schools have now been overcome.
The total number of children attending both Maintained and
Independent Schools who were examined in the routine age groups