FREE KINDERGARTENS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 153, 30 June 1936, Page 6

FREE KINDERGARTENS

HOPE IN GOVERNMENT

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

A hope that the present Government would help the Wellington Free Kindergarten Association to at least the same extent as the late Government was expressed in the report of the president of the association, which was presented' at the annual meeting last evening. The principal of the kindergartens, in her review of the year's work, said the medical statistics showed the children to' be hcslthier; . tbere were no cases of outstanding neglect and no children requiring urgent treatment. The meeting, over whic .1 Mrs. J. A. Doctor presided, • was acterided by more than fifty persons, and reports were presented touching all, sides of the association's activities. The president (Mrs. J. A. Doctor) stated in her annual report that last year the Kindergarten could not have carried on its niain activities but for a capitation graiit of £594 8s from the Government. The numbers this ! year were approximately the same as last. What of the future?'. The present Government had lowered the admission age of schoolchildren ftom six to five, which was the. limit to which the : Kindergarten Association had carried the. children. - . Would it be the policy of/the Government to include in its programme the care of the child from the age 6f three to the age of five? ; : ;

"We must,; for ; the present, carry on in the hopb that the present Government will at ! least give the. same i support as the late Government," said Mrs. Doctor. "In view of their enlightened policy in othen directions, we might hope even for i poiindrfor-poiind; subsidy. .Voluntary effort has always counted for much iiv Social service, and .always will, but that It should not only be .recognised but reinforced! by the Government is the," aim of the: Wellington Kindergarten Association.". The president acknowledged the re-| ceipt of the. following; special' grants: 1 Wellington City Council, £100; Macarthy Trust, £250; trustees of the estate of Sir Charles Slcerrett, £16; Atchison Kennedy Bequest, £96 2s 6d; legacy from the late Mr. W. Ferguson, £50 (a legacy for extension purposes, which enabled a relieving .directorship to be established).

The annual report of the .principal (Miss Enid T. Wilson) said the qguality of the work was maintained during the year. ■ The staff welcomed the Kindergarten Union's decision to revive the biennial refresher courses.' SOCIAL BACKGROUND. ••v, ' ' . ■■• . Statistics were collected in all kindergartens of the percentage of fathers 1 on relief, the number of only children or. children without' suitable companionship, and the housing conditions. Those greatly helped the understanding of the children's background. It was - felt also that they were valuable evidence of the justification of free kindergartens. Achild living under any of those unsatisfactory conditions suffered retardation of some sort, for the essentials' to well-being; were nourishment, harmony. in the home, the .. Companionship of "his contemporaries, space, and suitable occupation. '" ■ • , j

The specific ; investigations started in--1934 were, .continued, and parents proved useful in Contributing the information each child's social history, required. They commented upon the interesting questions those investigations raised, arid expressed appreciation of the discussohS-;'and help given, them. Extension work along those lines was badly needed, but it was impossible with the present staff..

"To be fully effective the, training, that the kindergarten gives its children must be practised in the home life of the child, arid our .concern tpr the future must be , a more' thoroughly organised plan for its achievement," said the report. i HEALTH OF CHILDREN". The statistics of Dr. Ellen Heycock, said Miss Wilson, showed an improvement on the conditions found last year. Nearly.so per cent, of the children had perfect sets of teeth, and only eight children were classed as "subnormal nutrition." There were no cases of outstanding neglect, and no children required urgent treatment. The Smith Family had again to-be thanked for a daily supply of thirteen and a half gallons, pf -milk. Approximately 460 children were enrolled during 1935. ..The average number on the rolls was 288, and the average attendance 254. Seventeen students, of whom four took supplementary examinations in June, were in training during the year. An urgent student re<juifrenifenl' v/ak a residential hostel, which' ensure country girls of a congenial home, the lack of which was a serious drawback. The various mothers' clubs, which had had a most successful year, realised £381 38s 2d from club activities. The weekly, voluntary subscription of the parents totalled £ 137 6s 6d, making a total of £519 4s. 8d contributed from parents to. the association. •

Miss Wilson concluded with an earnest plea to the Government to recognise the national purpose of kindergarten work, and to the general public to display more curiosity about works of fundamental importance to the community and to see the kindergartens in operation.

The officers were elected as fol-lows:—-Mesdaines ■ Doctor, .' Davidson; Briton-Smith, Lloyd; Robert Gibbons, David Smith, Thodey; Gilbert, Simpson, Didsbury, Eichelbaum, Newton, Mathews," Kelly, Nelson, Levin, Peacock, Elgar, Morton Paterson, Jowett, Misses England, Little/-Paterson, Ton Dadelszen, Wallace,' representing- local committees; Mrs, Mac Lean, Mrs. Lodder, Mrs. Fitohett, Mrs. Litchfield, Mrs. Morrell, Miss Davis; advisory member to council, Mr. Henry Smith.