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found a real aptitude for gardening. When she left, arrangements
were made for her to live with a country relative and take
up farm work.
Case B.—A dull child, with an epileptic mother. The garden
brought out all the happy best in this girl, who could never have
made good with books. She cared for her flowers and for our
little girls. Now she is doing well as mother's help.
Case C.—A big girl; had very little self-respect. Insistence
on a high standard of cleanliness roused this girl's enthusiasm.
She is now proud of her good looks, and has a fine influence on
other girls.
(f) The Local Authority retains fifteen beds at the Ogilvie
School of Recovery, Clacton-on-Sea. The selected cases are
delicate girls found at Medical Inspection, or notified by the Head
Teacher to the School Medical Officer. The children are examined
prior to admission by the Chief Assistant School Medical
Officer, and periodic reports are received from the school. During
the year fourteen girls were admitted and eleven returned, all
considerably benefitted.
The Authority has a Residential School for 80 Boys, situated
at Fyfield, Ongar, Essex. This School provides all the essentials
for out-door education, comprising fresh air, abundant food,
ample rest, physical exercises and games in the open. The children
are selected by the School Medical Staff and examined before
admission by the Chief Assistant School Medical Officer. They
are also visited by him once a fortnight, when all the boys are reinspected,
and height and weight noted.
During the year 156 boys were admitted and 151 discharged.
The discharged boys are re-inspected a few months after leaving
the Institution, to see if the improvement is maintained. All candidates
for Fyfield have their teeth put in order, and any necessary
operation on the throat performed prior to admission.
Improvement as a rule shows itself soon after admission,
owing no doubt to a better régime of hygiene obtaining than
exists at their homes. A local practitioner, Dr. David, is called
in for emergencies or sudden illness, when they arise.
Out of 105 cases sent for re-inspection following their discharge
from Fyfield, 25 did not attend owing to various reasons.
Out of the 80 examined, 63 showed continued improvement,
whereas 17 had had inter-current ailments, and their present condition
was not considered so satisfactory.
Following is a description of the Open Air School, to accommodate
60 girls, opened in May, 1930:—
The new buildings for the girls form three sides of a hollow
square, with a dormitory to accommodate 60 on one side, facing
south-west, and with a staff bedroom at each end for night supervision.
The dormitory is closed on the south-west side with
folding doors, so that practically the whole front can be thrown
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