[Report 1937] / School Medical Officer of Health, Salop / Shropshire County Council.

  • Shropshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1937
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1937] / School Medical Officer of Health, Salop / Shropshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    31/42 (page 27)
    CO-OPERATION OF PARENTS, TEACHERS, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS AND VOLUNTARY BODIES. Parents.—A notice is sent to all parents inviting their presence at the routine medical and dental inspections, and a special effort is alwa3/s made to get the parents of seriously defective children to attend. Teachers.—In addition to the help which the teachers give at ordinary school medical inspections, the assistance which they render during the inter-inspection periods in bringing their influence to bear on the parents to secure the treatment which has been advised is very great. This is especially so in the matter of dental treatment, and the effect of a change of head teacher is often very markedly reflected in the number of children whose parents consent to treatment. School Attendance Officers.—School Attendance Officers are present at the medical inspections when required, and are avilable for bringing up children who are absent and whose -examination is considered desirable. In persistently verminous cases, where it is necessary to take legal proceedings and the nurse objects to appearing in court, they are always present at .the final examination of the child, and are therefore able to give evidence when required. Voluntary Bodies.—The Inspectors of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children have been of great help in obtaining medical treatment where other means have iailed, and in dealing with cases of gross neglect. SECONDARY SCHOOLS. Medical inspection is carried out in 15 of the 17 Secondary Schools in the County. Four of I the Secondary Schools are Aided Schools ; and of these Aided Schools two undergo medical ii inspection. As four of the Secondary Schools, namely. Bishop’s Castle, Bridgnorth Grammar, ] Coalbrookdale High and Market Drayton Grammar are mixed schools, they have to be inspected j by male and female medical officers. The number of children in attendance in Secondary -Schools in the County in September, 1937, was 3,515, and the number of children on the registers :i of those secondary schools which undergo medical inspection was, on that date, 3,092. ! Medical Inspection of Secondary Schools is carried out every term, and the children who [ undergo routine medical examination at the visit of the medical inspector are entrants, children j .aged 12 and 15, and leavers. In addition, re-examination is carried out in the case of those : children in whom some defect has been found at a previous inspection, and progress is recorded If 'On a treatment card till further re-examination on account of defects found is no longer indicated. ' The head master or head mistress also brings forward for special examination any children, not n included in the groups mentioned above, in whose case there seems to be a condition or defect p requiring medical attention. . Arrangements were made during 1936 for medical inspection to be carried out also at |j the two Junior Technical Schools, namely, Oswestry Technical Institute and the Walker Technical j College, Oakengates, and at the Junior Day Classes at the Shrewsbury Technical College. The i: courses of instruction taken by the children usually commence in September and last two years. ] It was considered desirable, therefore, to concentrate upon examination of entrants in the Autumn t Term and leavers in the Summer Term. One hundred and sixty-six bo^^s and 170 girls attend !■: the Technical Colleges and arrangements had to be made for the girls to be examined by women 0 doctors. In all, 214 children (106 girls and 108 boys) were medically examined during 1937, ;n and as the number of examinations was relatively so small the findings have been included in the c .Secondary School Tables on pages 37 and 38.