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42
Crippling Defects and Orthopædics.—The total number
of children coming under this heading and attending our schools was
102, and those not attending number 60. "Crippling Defects'' embrace
very varying conditions extending from slight lameness due to Tubercular
Hip to cases brought to school in spinal carriages.
The Local Invalid Childrens' Aid Society has a register of all crippled
children in the district, and through its agency surgical boots and other
instruments required by the children are obtained.
The Society is very active, and cases involving much expense unable
to be borne by the parents, are brought before the Education Committee
who deals with them under Section 13 (1) 6, of the Act of 1907.
Through the agency of the Society, 34 children had convalescent
treatment. Two boys were away for one year and several children had
stays of 2, 3 and 4 months at the seaside.
Provision of surgical boots cost the Society over £45, the parents
contributing £125 6s. 9d. In the Society's Annual Report, the Hon.
Secretary pays a compliment to the parents who make great sacrifices
on behalf of their children. The various surgical instruments needed
for crippled children are, in the Secretary's words, " things always
expensive, slow to procure and constantly needing repair.''
The disproportion in the amounts spent by the parents, the Society
and the Education Committee is very marked.
Five percent. of the cost is a very small portion of the burden
shouldered by the Local Authority, and were it not for the difficulty in
having to obtain sanction from the Board of Education for each individual
child, for whom a surgical boot or other appliance is needed, the condition
of many of these children would be much better than it is.
Many of the children are found wearing boots that are much too
small for them and dilapitated instruments that no longer serve the
purposes for which they were obtained.
Table III. shows the number of these children not attending School
and I have referred in my foreword to the injustice done them in the
name of " Economy."
9. OPEN AIR EDUCATION.
There is no open-air school in the district. A number of schools
lend themselves to open-air instruction and teachers are encouraged to
carry out this as far as our climate will allow.
A circular to this effect was issued by the Education Committee in
April and a fair response was made, but its extension and universal
adoption is a matter of time and education.
In some of the schools neither the central halls or the cloak rooms
are found efficiently ventilated and the air is stuffy.