INFANT TRAINING

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 146, 22 June 1928, Page 3

INFANT TRAINING

' » ■ . ■ NUESERY SCHOOLS AT HOME The second o£ a-course of six lectures was given last Tuesday night at the Taranaki Street Free Kindergarten, the subject being "Nursery Schools at ..Home." The speaker, Miss Edwards, of the Kelburn Normal School, who has. recently been to , England and has seen .some of these schools, was introduced by Miss England, who took the chair. .\ . . ', Miss Edwards spoke in particular about the .Rachel Macmillan, Nursery. School in London,, where excellent-social work ia being done. The idea was originated by the two sisters Macmillan,'and'a few voluntary, social workers who were interested in the question of health. This small body of people were instrumental in starting the.first' health clinic in London in 1907 for. eye, throat, and ear troubles. Then the clinic was moved to Deptford, and a baby camp was opened in connection with it. From then onwards people became' interested, and the famous Mac-, millan Nursery School was begun, which m the end provided accommodation for 400 poor children between the ages.of two and eleven years. It was one of the fiuest Examples o£ social work that had been done, said the speaker,'and would helfc, with tho other nursery schools of "England, towards the solution of the great shun problem. The mothers in these London slums' were, for the moat part, out at work all day, so the.children were brought to the . Nursery School at about 7.30. a.m. and of ten remained. until 7 at night. i They were bathed and'fed and received the care and love that every child should get in the home. Although the school was situated in one of the poorest parts of London, -there was , k garden with grass and flowers in which the children, could play and develop. The' children were perfectly happy' there, and responded in a wonderful way to such a suitable 'environment. They remained .-.there., all day, and had their midday sleep and meals for theni, and the improvement in them in a short time both physically and mentally was a .reward. for hours of self-sacrificing' work on the_ part of the workers., ' . ■ Deptford was an open-air school, and had proved an undoubted success. Open-air schools in some form or other were now (being built by all boards of education in England. A Mothers' Club, on a very large scale' was organised in connection with the Nursery School, in order to1 provide amusement, hejp, and advice for the mothers, who were still extremely ignorant'in the matter of training and looking after their children.. '.'.',, Miss Edwards said that besides the nursery schools in London there were others in Leeds, Manchester,' and Birmingham, and other large towns with extensive slum's. Very fine clinic work was being done in connection with, these nursery schools and social work also to help and give the mothers knowledge, which was of such great importance to the. whole country. That they loved their children was evident-from the "self-sacri-fice which played such a large part -in their hard lives,'and they were only too anxious to learn how to, treat their children properly. The nursery schools of England, therefore, were benefiting two'very I important members of the community— the mothers arid the children. Miss Edwards said, in' conclusion, that she' considered ' that a most, excellent social work was being done here in- Wellington in the six free'kindergartens for'children in the poorer parts' of the city, the kindergarten rather than the nursery school being; the type of school best suited.to the needs of the child under five in New Zealand, and she added that the children from these kindergartens are easily picked put m theprimary schools as being well trained and ready for the rather more, formal side of school life int,o which they are plunged at the-very early age of, five. After some discussions on various points m the lecture, Miss Rbnayne,proposed a vote of, thanks to Miss Edwards for her very interesting lecture, and Miss Eyland announced that Miss. Valeric Corliss would, give her second lecture .on musical appreciation on Tuesday, the 26th, at Taranaki street, with illustrations on the piano. .^_________ '