London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kingston upon Thames 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
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32
All children are under supervision by the medical staff of
the department. During the year two nursery students completed
their training and obtained the N.N.E.B. certificate.
The following table shows the position as regards numbers on the registers and the waiting lists at the end of the year, with the average attendance during the year:
| Day Nursery | Number of approved places | Number on register at 31.12.69 | Average daily attendance during the year | Number on waiting list at | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 2 | Age 2-5 | Under 2 | Age 2-5 | 31.12.69 | ||
| Fairmead, Tolworth | 42 | 12 | 33 | 7 | 29 | 39 |
| Canbury Park, Kingston | 46 | 10 | 40 | 9 | 29 | 62 |
| Totals | 88 | 22 | 73 | 16 | 58 | 101 |
Nurseries and Child-Minders Regulation Act. 1948
Following receipt of Circular 37/68 from the then Ministry of
Health a comprehensive review was carried out in the borough of the day
care facilities which were available for children under the age of five
years. As a direct result of this the work of the health visitor has
increased during the year because since November 1968 it has been
necessary to register all persons who, for reward, care in their own
homes for one or more children under the age of five for a total of two
or more hours during the day. Much effort has been expended on the
setting up of courses and the supervision of persons without qualifications
who are engaged in child minding or who wish to register for
this purpose. Frequently these are housewives whose experience is
limited to bringing up their own children and as such they may have
insufficient knowledge to equip them to look after other people's children.
During the past four years there has been an increasing demand
within the borough for facilities for the day care of children, particularly
for playgroups. This is not surprising as popular magazines,
television programmes and articles in newspapers have repeatedly dealt