Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
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Staff of the School Medical Service.
School Medical Officer.
IS. VV. MATTHEWS, m.b., B.s.(Lond,), d.p.h.
School Nurse.
Miss R. BARTTER, Cert. C.m.b., Cert, R.s.i. as H.V. and S.N.
Clerk. •
Miss FLAVELL.
SUMMER TIME ACT.
In answer to Circular 1215 of the Board of Education,
the followng reply was made on September 28th, 1921, by
the School Medical Officer:—
Reliable information from parents on the effects of this
Act on the health of children attending public elementary
schools is most difficult to obtain, and that received from
teachers is very contradictory.
One head teacher of a large infants' school writes: "I
have found no ill-effects on the health, attendance, or ability
to work of the children attending this department owing to
the putting on of the clock during the summer months,"
whereas another teacher of a similar infants' school says:
"In many cases the children are kept up later, and therefore
do not have sufficient sleep. In consequence, when
they come to school in the morning, they are sleepy, often
yawning and lacking in energy and vitality. They seem
unable to concentrate." Other reports from teachers vary
between these two extremes.