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The local branch of the Moral Diocesan
Society, Welcare, also plays an important part in
caring for some of our unsupported mothers.
Day Nurseries
There are three day nurseries in the borough,
Danesbury Road, Feltham (40 places),
Portsdown House, Brentford (32 places) and
Nantly House, Hounslow (54 places), all of which
are approved by the Ministry of Health for the
training of student nursery nurses. This means a
high standard is maintained. The children of
mothers who have to go to work, because for
various reasons they are without the support of a
husband continue to represent the bulk of
admissions but places are also provided for
children whose mothers are ill or whose home
environment is detrimental to health and
development. In addition, children with
handicaps are admitted for reasons related to
social experience and supervised training, as well
as the affording of some relief to over-burdened
mothers. Thus the local authority day nurseries
play an important role in preventing children
from being taken into care and in the prevention
of the break-up of the family. From time to time
it is inevitable that cases of infectious diseases
occur in these susceptible young children and
when a case occurs no new admissions are
allowed until a period of quarantine has elapsed
and one is sure a new child will not be exposed to
infection from contacts of the original case
already in the nursery who may be incubating the
disease. This year saw a fair share of infections
in all of our day nurseries with an inevitable fall
in the total number of attendances compared to
last year in both Portsdown House and Nantly
House Day Nurseries.
The attendances made by children were as
under—
Feltham Day Nursery 9,029
Portsdown House Day Nursery 6,195
Nantly House Day Nursery 11,386
During 1966 a nursery nurse attended a two
week's nursery nurses refresher course at
Chiswick Polytechnic. All the students in training
passed their final examinations entitling them to
NNEB certificate.
The nurseries themselves provide a means for
students of Chiswick Polytechnic who are being
prepared for one or other type of social work to
observe the kind of care and organised activity
that children receive in day nurseries and to
develop their own powers of observation. The
demand for this kind of experience is increasing.
It is gratifying to report that both course tutors
and individual students have written in to thank
us for the facilities afforded and for the insight
they have gained into the needs of young children.
Nurseries and Child Minders Regulation Act
The following were registered at the end of the
year-
Private Day Nurseries
10 with accommodation for 267 children
Child Minders
15 approved for the care of 153 children
The number of places thus provided greatly
exceeds the number of places provided in the
borough's nurseries.
There is little doubt that there is growing
widespread outside employment of mothers of
small children as well as an increased awareness
amongst young mothers that the three-to-five
year olds need opportunities to extend their
environment beyond their home, especially when
space and opportunities for play are limited.
The day nursery and nursery school provision
does not meet the demand for the care of the
'under fives' and this leaves the field open for
private individuals to try to fill the gaps. Those
who run the 'private sector' often need much
support, advice and encouragement to fit them
for the task they have undertaken. Two evening
courses are provided annually at Chiswick
Polytechnic on the health, educational and
psychological needs of the under fives, with
special reference to children in nursery groups.
Much encouragement is given to those in charge
of small children who have not had previous
appropriate training, to attend such a course and
when this is not possible a visit of observation
to one of our day nurseries is advocated and the
reading of a very useful paperback.
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