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employment. No child shall be employed in any work out of doors unless he is suitably shod
and is suitably clad for protection against the weather. Furthermore, under Section 18 of
the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933, no child shall be employed to lift, carry, or
move anything so heavy as to be likely to cause injury to him. The greater part of the
work undertaken by children in this Borough consists of newspaper and milk delivery and other
errand rounds. Very occasionally a girl is examined in connection with paper delivery. The
school medical officer carrying out the examination signs a certificate to the effect that
the employment will not be prejudicial to the health or physical development of the child
and will not render him unfit to obtain proper benefit from his education. In practice
children from all types of school - grammar, technical, secondary, modern and special
(E.S.N.) are examined in this connection. With regard to the Special School it is the
higher grade child who is presented for examination.
The number submitted for examination since 19^9 had progressively declined, the
numbers being 229, 132, 107 and 86, but during 1953 there was a slight increase, the number
being 93. The number of certificates of fitness granted for girls to participate in singing
and dancing under the Entertainment Rules had remained fairly constant since 19^9, but during
the present year there was a small decrease, the number examined being ^5.
THE SCHOOL-LEAVER AND EMPLOYMENT
The School Health and Youth Employment services work closely together during the last
two years of the child's school life and one of the last duties which the former service
does for a child on leaving school is to give the Youth Employment Officer an indication of
his fitness for employment. The school medical officer, at the last inspection of the
child, marks on the general school-leaving medical report appropriate limitations to employment,
e.g., the child should not enter an occupation involving heavy manual work, sedentary
work, work involving normally acute vision and so on. There are seventeen standard limitations
set out on the form. The scheme has now been in operation for 19 years. Whenever
time permits any necessary investigations and, if possible, treatment are carried out before
a pupil leaves school. It is found in practice that limitations are most frequently recommended
on account of defective vision. The next in order of frequency are heavy manual work,
exposure to bad weather and prolonged standing, much walking or quick movement from place to
place. Where there is a handicap of such a nature and severity as to come within the scope
of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, I9W, a more detailed report is made. This applies
particularly to children in attendance at special schools, which are visited towards the
end of each term for the purpose of reviewing the capabilities of the school leavers.
Registration under this Act gives the disabled Juvenile a better chance of obtaining and
keeping a Job. During the year 9 reports were submitted for this purpose.
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