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51
Day Nurseries.
(a) The hours of opening at all the Nurseries during 1952 continued
to be from 7.30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday only.
(b) As from the 1st January, 1952, the charge made to parents for
meals for children attending the Nurseries was increased from 1s. 6d.
to 2s. 0d. per day for each child and this continued in operation throughout
the year. On the 18th January, 1953, however having regard to the
provision in the National Health Service Act, 1952. that fees charged for
the attendance of children at day nurseries should be in relation to the
upkeep and running costs, the standard charge was increased to 7s. 6d.
per child per day, with provision for this standard charge to be reduced,
according to scale, when the means of the parents do not justify the full
charge.
Following this increase in January, 1953, there has been a marked
decrease in the daily attendances at the Nurseries. It should, however,
be mentioned that for some months previously the number of applications
for day nursery accommodation had somewhat diminished, largely due
to the decline in the birth rate over the past four or five years and
possibly in part due to the fact that there have been less opportunities
for married women to find employment than there were two or three
years ago.
(c) The training of Students at the Nurseries for the Certificate of
the National Nursery Examination Board continued. Ten Students (two
from the Ley Street Nursery, one from the Sunshine House Nursery, three
from the Goodmayes Lane Nursery and four from Stevens Road
Nursery) entered for the examination during the year, five of whom
obtained the Certificate.
In January, 1953, approval was given to arrangements being made for
young students to attend part-time courses (on one day a week) at day
continuation classes whilst awaiting enrolment for the Nursery Nurses'
Course at a Technical College in the September following their sixteenth
birthday; this enables them to pursue their studies in general subjects and
so improve their general educational standard during this pre-nursery
course period.
(d) Stevens Road Nursery.—In view of the decrease in demand for
accommodation at this Nursery, the Health Area Sub-Committee at their
meeting in May, 1952, decided to offer to the Dagenham Health Area a
block of 20 places. This offer was accepted and the first batch of children
was admitted on the 30th June. The number of Dagenham children in
the Nursery, however, has never exceeded 9 and at the 31st December
was 6.
As the demand for places at this Nursery continued to decline in the
latter months of 1952, notwithstanding the arrangements referred to in the
foregoing paragraph, and the number of children on the register has
steadily decreased since, approval was given by the County Council to
close the Nursery on the 28th July, 1953, the remaining children being
transferred to the Goodmayes Lane Nursery.