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detailed routine work of "Medical Inspection," valuable
as that may be. At present, unless there is some special
reason to the contrary, I visit a school about once a year,
which is not getting the benefit from the Education
(Administrative Provisions) Act that should be derived.
Before the examination, notices are sent out to all the
parents, and at the Infants and Junior Mixed Schools it is
the exception for the parent to be absent. In the boys and
girls schools or departments the reverse is the case.
In all, 23 parents objected to having their children
examined, and as there was no special indication to the
contrary, their wishes were respected.
In the newer schools where there are teachers' rooms,
the examination was conducted in these, and so no interruption
or dislocation of the school work was entailed. In
one or two instances where there was no such room, a class
room was used, which led to some inconvenience, but taking
the schools as a whole the disturbance of school arrangements
was slight.
In addition to the Inspection at the schools, any parent,
teacher, or Attendance Officer can send a child to my
office any morning between 9 and 10 a.m. The child is then
seen and a certificate given as to the length of time of
exclusion from school, or returning, as the case may be.
During 1909, 1,813 certificates were so issued, and the
causes of exclusion may be roughly classified as under:—
Adenoids 3
Diseases of Circulatory System 1
,, of Ear 10
,, of Eye 48
,, of Nose 1
,, of Skin 246
,, of Respiratory System 37