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85
functions. It may be said that her continued presence in the school relieves
pupils and teachers from anxieties which are common to special schools of this
type.
Health Education in Schools
Our programme of health education in schools has continued. This was
started in co-operation with head teachers mainly because of concern about problem
families and early marriages for which it seemed the adolescent had very little
preparation. Also that general instruction on health was not fully covered by the
normal school curriculum. Encouragement to develop and increase these programmes
was given by the keenness of the children, demands from other schools
and in at least one unexpected occurrence. Here a girl of a problem family who
had been present at a series of health talks in the school arrived one day at a
welfare centre. She told the health visitor that she had brought her baby sister
to see her because she was worried about the child and while her mother allowed
her to take the baby to the health visitor she could not be bothered to do so herself.
During the year 389 talks were given in secondary modern schools. Health
visitors and one school nurse with training and a special flair for teaching undertook
this work.
School Dental Service
The Area Dental Officer (Mr. Sainty) reports
During the past year the staff position, in addition to the Area Dental
Officer, has been
Full time Dental Officers to 31st July 6
Pull time Dental Officers thereafter 5
Part time Dental Officers 2
(equivalent to 9/llths of one
full time appointment)
Part time Orthodontist 1
There was a slight falling off in the number of school children attending
for treatment and, consequently, in some categories of treatment. One reason for
this may be that treatment is now more readily obtainable under the National Health
Service than previously. Evidence of increased treatment outside the school
dental service is seen at routine dental inspections and it is only natural that
some parents may prefer to have their children treated by their family dentist.
The fact that evening treatment is welcomed by many is shown by the continuing
success of this at the dental clinic in the Park Lane Centre where it has been in
operation for several years.
This Area, in company with others, took part in the quinquennial survey of
the Ministry of Education into the incidence of dental caries in school children.
Two age-groups are involved - 5 year olds and 12 year olds. Previous surveys