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DAY CENTRES
Day Nurseries
The pressure on these continues to build up also, for whereas Chingford Day Nursery
could take a few non-priority cases in the early days of the borough, it now has a waiting
list and in the south of the borough the waiting list of priority cases would fill two complete
day nurseries at once.
A somersault in Government policy caught us badly here. We had a day nursery in our
capital programme, for the need was evident, but it was also evident from discussions with
the Ministry staff that loan sanction for a new day nursery was extremely unlikely. In these
circumstances, in order to plan a capital programme realistically, the day nursery was omitted
to make a place from the limited capital available for projects where loan sanction was likely.
Then the Government announced the Urban Programme to encourage, inter alia, day nurseries
in areas of housing stress. The south of the borough most certainly is one of these and it is
to be hoped that this can be remedied in the future.
Child Minding and
Playgroups
Nursery schools are also needed and will benefit children, but they are not a realistic
answer where the main need is for child minding to allow the mother, from social need, to go
to work or to be admitted to hospital. Of course there is much child minding in the private
sector. Greater numerically are the children in playgroups - also supervised by our staff.
There has been a great increase in this. The position at 31st December was as follows:-
1968 1964
Registered child minders 19 13
No. of children cared for 114 94
Registered Play Group Premises 36 6
No. of children permitted 1,120 182
As from 1st November, 1968 the Health Services and Public Health Act, 1968
extended the provision of the Nursery and Child Minders Regulation Act, 1948 to require any
person (not being a relative) who minds a child for reward for two hours or more a day to be
registered with the local authority. Under previous legislation registration was required only
where three or more children were being minded.
The Health Visiting staff had for the latter part of the year been compiling lists of
persons known or suspected of looking after one or two children. Approximately 170 such
persons were circulated, informing them of the new legislation and giving details of the
required standard for child minding. The response was in fact quite poor, only 33 replies
having been received by the end of the year. Those who did not reply will be re-circulated
early in the New Year.
Posters and leaflets (with translations in Hindu and Urdu) were printed and distributed
in early January, 1969 in conjunction with notices in the local press, and a much greater
response was achieved. By 25th January, 103 applications for registration were received and
three or four requests are being received daily at the time of writing.
Junior Training
Centre
During the year the Prime Minister announced that Junior Training Centres were to be
transferred to Education Departments at an indefinite time in the future when the problems
involved are solved. This is no less than social justice which Medical Officers of Health
generally support. The problems are tricky ones involving, amongst other things, the future
of the staff and the role of the Mental Welfare Officers.
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