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138
Under the School Health Service and Handicapped Pupils Regulations
1953, the local education authority is free to experiment in the ages at
which periodic medical inspection shall be carried out although a minimum
of three general medical inspections is prescribed for each child.
During the year 1970 in Harrow, the periodic medical inspections
were carried out as follows:-
(1) Entrants—During the first year in infant school efforts are
made to try and conduct these first school inspections during
the second and third terms to allow the child a period to settle
into the new and strange environment of school and also to give
the staff an opportunity of observing and assessing the child
before the actual inspection takes place. Observations offered by
teaching staff to the medical officer can be of tremendous value
when the actual examination is carried out.
(2) Intermediates—During the first year of secondary school.
(3) Leavers—During the last year at school.
Pupils who miss a medical inspection are automatically examined at
the next routine medical inspection arranged at the school. All children who
are found to have some defect or who require observation are seen again
(re-inspections) as necessary, either at the school or by special appointment
at the school clinic. In addition to the routine school inspections,
arrangements are made to carry out special inspections of pupils, usually
at the request of a parent, doctor, nurse, teacher or other person.
The number of pupils inspected during the year at maintained schools
was as follows:-
Periodic inspections 7,150
Special inspections 1,493
Re-inspections 3,578
Tables IV and V show the number of defects found at both periodic
medical inspections and special inspections and the number of individual
children found to require treatment or observation.
General Condition of Children Inspected
An estimate of the child's physical condition at the time of the
inspection is made and the children classified as follows:-
(a) Satisfactory:
Number 7,146
Percentage 99-94
(b) Unsatisfactory:
Number 4
Percentage 0-06