[Report 1920] / School Medical Officer of Health, Perth County Council.

  • Perthshire (Scotland). County Council.
Date:
1920
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1920] / School Medical Officer of Health, Perth County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    2. (a) Number of Schools, ... ... ... VIZ (b) Number of Children on Register, ... 18,288 Do. in Average Attendance, 16,091 3. Number of Visits to Schools for Systematic Examinations, in accordance with Scheme or Inspection, ... ... ... ... 455 4. Number of Special Visits by Medical Officers, i.e., visits for purposes other than those of system¬ atic inspection, ... ... ... ... 146 5. SANITARY CONDITIONS OF SCHOOLS. A great deal of work is required before the Sanitary Conditions of Schools generally can be considered satisfactory. There has been a considerable lack of appreciation of the necessity for this very important matter in the past, which has been greatly accentuated by the difficulties during the War period. This particularly applies to the country schools, as the town schools with some exceptions are in good sanitary condition. A. Lighting.—About 50 per cent, of the schools can be considered well lighted, while about 20 per cent, are definitely badly lighted. In the City attention is specially drawn to the defective lighting of the Infant Class Rooms in Caledonian Road School, to which attention has been drawn in the 4th, 8th and 12th Annual Reports of the Perth School Board. More regular cleaning of windows and replacing of ground glass windows by ordinary glass would do much to improve the lighting. B. Ventilation.—The means of ventilation are sufficient to- about 70 per cent, of the schools, but a good deal can still be done by teachers to make the means of ventilation provided more effective. It must be admitted, however, that the defective heating of many schools makes efficient ventilation very difficult in cold weather. C- Heating.—In ordinary weather the heating is good in about 50 per cent, of the schools, and only in a few cases is it very bad. Many1 of the schools however are not sufficiently heated to allow of proper ventilation in cold weather. 85 per cent, are heated by open fires or stoves; 14 per cent, by pipes; one or two have- both ; in a few schools gas radiators are employed. Those last are a very bad form of school heating, as in many cases there is no provision for escape of fumes. In some schools where radiators have- been introduced, they are not used on account of the fumes—in one at least the pressure of gas is insufficent.