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66
Day Nurseries
All three day nurseries, Park Lane, Plevna and Stonecroft, are approved as training schools
for student nursery nurses.
The nursery matrons report that during the year there were more children admitted from
broken homes or homes where there is only one parent than ever before. This is borne out by our
records as regards children wholly supported by one parent and there is evidence to show that
more than 50% of the children on the registers were in the 0-2 years age group. The periods
for which children attended were in many cases shorter than in the past and during the year
approximately 30% stayed in the nurseries for up to one month; 50% for periods under one year,
and 20% over one year.
The constant change-over of children adds to the strains of day nursery work associated
with the settling-in of so many children.
Staff absences due to sickness lowers the actual ratio of staff to children to what must be
considered a dangerously low level so that in practice students or an inadequate number of staff
may be left to supervise a considerable number of children. Students are away from the nurseries
at the technical college on two days of each week for their theoretical training, and when they
return, their practical training is reduced to a minimum. There is unlikely to be proper supervision
of students or children in such circumstances and the amount of absenteeism may produce
overstrain resulting from inadequate staffing in our day nurseries.
The remedy may be either to consider students as supernumerary or that the nurseries be
given a higher proportion of trained nursery nurses for the 0-2 age group.
Student nursery nurse training and examination arrangements have been revised by the National
Nursery Examination Board and in connection with this, nursery matrons were invited to attend a
meeting at the Tottenham Technical College in January for a full discussion of the necessary
modifications.

Distribution of Welfare Foods