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meals in schools, the effects of rationing, a gradually improving housing position, and a
rising standard of living all conduce to improve the health of the child. With these
points in mind and with a fuller appreciation in the ordinary schools of the varying
needs of individual children, it may be that the need for open-air schools for "delicate"
children will diminish with the years. The recently built schools can offer facilities
similar to those found in open-air schools and there may not be much physical advantage
in a transfer. It is significant that residential open-air schools which accepted some
of our children now have vacancies whereas previously there were long waiting lists. The
view held at the present time is that children who have respiratory and other diseases or
those who are severely debilitated need a period of residence ordinarily not less than
six months and debilitated children from poor homes need a period of residence normally
not less than twelve months. These latter children need little or no nursing care. The
broadening of the definition of a delicate child to include those who need no more than
a change of environment to enable them to benefit from normal education, may open the
way for a wider selection of cases and so help to keep the school more nearly filled to
capacity.
NURSERY SCHOOLS
The authority now has four Nursery schools. Children in attendance are examined
quarterly and the results are set out below:-
Number examined Number found to Percentage found to
require treatment require treatment
357 21 5.88
When the children were examined for the first time during the year, their general
condition, using the Ministry of Education classification, was assessed as follows:-
Number
examined Good Percentage Fair Percentage Poor Percentage
255 110 43.14 144 56.47 1 0.39
The great reduction in the percentage of poor general condition from 2.8 in 1952
to 0.39 this year corresponds with the reduction noted in connection with periodic
inspections in primary and secondary schools during the past two years. It is interesting
to note that this low percentage fits in with the findings at the special toddlers clinics
given on page
The defects which are most frequently found at the medical inspections are bronchitis
and catarrhal conditions of the upper respiratory passages, nose and throat conditions, and
minor orthopaedic defects.
The importance of medical supervision of nursery schools lies in the opportunity to
detect the earliest beginnings of disease at a stage when remedial measures are comparatively
easy to apply and may prevent the development of more serious trouble.
The nursery school is to some extent an observation centre, both medically and
socially, where the progress of health and development of character can be carefully watched
and guided in the child's best interests.
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