The physical welfare of children has
always been a partnership between the home and the school. Advances in
medicine, improvements in the quantity and variety of food available and a
more affluent society suggest that today’s children should be healthier than
those of the early/mid 20th century and require less medical
intervention within the school. Certainly the medical supervision of
children in schools is now less than in the past but this more about using
the available resources more effectively, and to a lesser degree, the fear
of litigation (inspecting a child’s head in today’s ‘politically correct
society’ may be seen as child abuse) than having healthier children.
During the 1930’s, the 1940’s and the 1950’s school medical inspections by a
doctor occurred regularly and played an important role in overseeing the
general heath and welfare of the nation’s children.
Dolphin Lane’s first medical was carried out within a few months of the
school opening and further medicals were held at regular intervals each
year. These general health surveys, usually arranged for groups of
twenty-five to thirty children at a time, were held soon after a child
started school, when it moved from the Infants to the Juniors and just prior
to moving on to Secondary education. Parents were expected, if personal
circumstances allowed, to attend the medicals with their children. If a
problem was found the doctor made a return visit –
‘to examine again children noted as defective cases.’
It was not until after the war years that statements such as … ‘all in
good health’, ‘all were fit and sound.’ and ‘all very fit’ …
appeared after the examinations carried out on the older boys. No such
comments ever appeared after the girls’ medicals.
Even more frequent than doctor’s visits were the nurses’ surveys. These
were usually for –
‘the purpose of examining children with a view to the detection of
vermin’.
The school had only been open a month when the first inspection of
children’s heads was undertaken. Subsequent visits, often taking two or
three days to complete, were made twice or more each year and it was usual
for every child to have its hair checked on each occasion.
Head lice was certainly a problem with some families and comment such as
" children were excluded on account of verminous heads"
regularly appeared in the records of both schools.
Children’s teeth were also checked regularly. The first dental visit, in
September 1930, was to survey 8 and 9 year olds, while in the following
October it was the turn of the Infant children. Of the 388 children seen …
‘more than 160 parents signed the dental forms for treatment.’
In January 1933 schools were formally notified by the Medical Officer for
Health that -
‘In future the dental treatment of school children will be carried out on
the school premises.’
An inspection at the school a month after the policy change revealed two
that hundred and eighty eight of the children examined required dental
attention but only one hundred and forty-five of them agreed to have the
treatment offered. Commenting on the numbers the Head teacher noted …
‘Strangely enough the number of children requiring treatment is 50%
(approx) of children in school and the number of children treated is 50% of
the number requiring treatment.’
For the most part dental checks, when, every child in the school was
examined, were from that time onward carried out annually, although as would
be expected, visits were less frequent during the war years.
Visits by the school nurse to examine the children’s vision were not
mentioned until June 1946. Her calls were made at approximately two yearly
intervals, with the 8 and 9 year old children being the target age group.
For children with known defective vision there were more regular checks.
The children’s hearing seemed to have received the least attention from
the medical services. The aural nurse visited the school for three days in
October 1938 but any other visits there might have been, either before or
after, were not recorded. On the one-recorded visit four hundred and forty
children were tested and nineteen were found to have defective hearing.
Protection against diphtheria was another service provided in schools. A
doctor gave the course of three injections, usually in successive weeks. The
school’s first visit was in 1931 when approximately two hundred and fifty
children were treated. In June 1933 ninety-one children had the protective
injections and in 1939 all the children under 8 years old were inoculated.
The first visit after the war was in 1946 when a check was made to ensure
all the children then at the school had protection against the disease. From
that time onwards visits to maintain the inoculation programme were made
approximately every three years.
Over and above all the various checks outlined, extra visits were made by
nurses to … ‘examine children needing special supervision,’ … to …
‘inspect children’s general cleanliness’ … and to … ‘follow up cases
of dirty children.’
Despite all the medical checks and support available the usual ‘childhood
diseases’ still appeared at regular intervals. Although it was the Infant
children were more prone to the diseases, there were occasions when the
whole school was affected. In March and April 1930 there was an epidemic of
measles, mumps and whooping cough – ‘attendance is considerably
affected.’
and exactly a year later absenteeism was again high when there was an
epidemic of measles, whooping cough and chickenpox. It wasn’t until 1948
that the next epidemic hit the school and on that occasion influenza was the
culprit.
‘The absences of teachers are unavoidable but it is unusual to
have so many teachers away at the same time. The ‘flu’ epidemic has been of
a serious nature in the Midlands and Birmingham especially.’
Before the next ‘flu’ epidemic, in January 1959, when as many as twenty
children were reportedly absent from each class, there was another outbreak
of whooping cough, measles and scarlet fever at the school. This epidemic
swept through the Infant classes during January and February 1957 …
‘causing much absence.’
Other illnesses that raised alarms and, in some cases led to exclusions,
were scabies and infantile paralysis.
Although most of the general medical supervision was provided within the
school, clinics were available for any back-up treatment needed. In February
1933 Dolphin Lane School was formally notified that …
‘The work of the School Medical Service will be carried out, as from
Monday 20th February, in a new clinic established at Stratford
Road, opposite Springfield Road. The Greet Clinic will not be used after
this date.’
Even with all the medical services available the Head Teacher was not
entirely exempt from health related duties. In 1946 he noted -
‘Head teacher spending much time in checking weights and measurement of
children for allocation of Supplementary Clothing Coupons.’
Memories of health matters were, for most past pupils, related to
individual suffering but some also remembered the visits of the ‘nit’ nurse.
‘It was while I was in this class (Miss Hale’s) I contracted diphtheria
and almost died. I was in hospital for 13 weeks and in bed so long I had to
learn to walk again,’ Barbara Winfield (nee Harrison)
‘I also remember the ‘nit’ nurse coming to school about once a month. I
could not understand why I never had to have my hair washed and some girls
did. I went on to be a hairdresser so when I did see children with problems
with theirhair I understand how lucky I was that my mother looked after my
hair.’ Carol Whopples (nee Tindal)
‘There were extra clothing coupons for children over 5 feet 4 inches tall
and over a certain weight. I had extra for being tall.’ Sidney Bardell
‘Many wounds and rashes were treated with iodine and it was not uncommon
for children to be painted with Gentian Violet.’ Syd Parsons
