[Report 1924] / School Medical Officer of Health, Brighouse Borough.

  • Brighouse (England). Council. nb2008024084.
Date:
1924
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1924] / School Medical Officer of Health, Brighouse Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    as possible, which is veiy praiseworthy, and which ought to be realised by every parent in the Borough. The two chief improvements which have taken place during the year are mentioned. Other minor details have also received attention. Rastrick Common.—New windows have been put in, and have brought the lighting of this school to a satisfactory standard. St. Joseph’s.—^The conveniences are now converted to water carriage system. The general cleanliness of school buildings and classrooms has improved, though constant attention is always required to keep up to the mark. The following defects are receiving attention Insufficient lighting (natural) . . . . . . 2 ,, ,, (artificial) . . . . . . 1 ,, ventilation . . . . . . . . 4 Conveniences— Tub system . . .. .. . . 4 ,, Trough closets . . .. . . 2 Defective playground . . . . . . . . 1 ,, paving of conveniences.. .. 3 MEDICAL INSPECTION. As above explained, the numbers presented for examination in the entrant and leaver groups were not so high as those of last year. The probable reasons have also been given. This year numbers are as follows :—Entrants, i.e., children up to and including 7 years old, 193, of these 96 being boys and 97 girls. 101 children of the entrant group were under 5 years of age ; this is 8 more than last year. Of these 27 were only 3 years old, mere babies. The children under 5 are a constant source of trouble to teachers and Attendance Officer alike, as they are frequently absent from school, and of course this attendance cannot be enforced, thus making accurate attendance registering com-plicated, and numbers attending uncertain. No doubt this spasmodic school attendance relieves the mothers of their care and worry, but I cannot see how it benefits the children, except to keep them out of the gutter. It is a useful arrangement for a bad home, but not for a good one, and, as stated last year, the increased risk of developing infectious disease, with which they are too young to cope, is considerable. The eight year old group numbered 288, an increase of 24 over last year’s figure, of which 148 were boys and 140 girls. There were 99 leavers and others, being 45 boys and 44 girls, the smallness of this figure having been previously explained.