E.—ll

12

impossible to supervise children so that they do not put their lips to the tap in drinking. There is really no adequate substitute for a drinking-fountain, though many devices are suggested. As epidemic succeeds epidemic it becomes evident that the installation of bubble fountains is necessary. Many schools have this year introduced drinking-fountains. Open-air Schools. —The value of teaching in the open air is now generally recognized. Evidence of the benefits derived from this method have so accumulated that it is unquestionably desirable to increase facilities for it. The outdoor shelters are very largely utilized for this purpose, and it is pleasant to note how many schools are adopting the practice of working as much as possible outside. The windy and variable climate of many districts is a serious drawback to this custom, arid it becomes obvious that more substantial structures in the nature of " fresh-air class-rooms " are necessary to permit of it. The open-air class-room at South Wellington has been in use since March, 1915, with most satisfactory result. An open-air class-room is at present under construction at Lansdowne, near Masterton. Considering the rigorous period of winter and the frequency of cold winds, it appears desirable either to construct open-air class-rooms so that they may be converted into well-ventilated but, warm class-rooms of the ordinary type, or else to so construct ordinary class-rooms that they may be converted as often as possible into open-air class-rooms. Thus the room is adapted for weather of all seasons. Playgrounds. —ln towns these are frequently much too small, and more especially is this so in congested areas where there is no wide space to which children may resort. In the country playgrounds are often almost entirely grass-covered, a satisfactory condition in dry weather but the reverse on wet days. A large asphalted area is an essential if physical drill is to be regularly performed. Outside seating-accommodation is nearly always insufficient, and in consequence the children often seat, themselves on damp ground. The shelter-sheds are often much too small. Where trees are planted in playgrounds they add beauty and give useful shelter. School playgrounds in one or two districts have been made delightful from tree-planting and the arrangement of garden-plots and grassy slopes. This is a very practical method of educating the aesthetic sense of children. Conclusion. It will be seen from the above report that even in its initial stages and with a very small staff the work of medical inspection of schools has been of great benefit to thousands of schoolchildren. The possibilities of future developments referred to in the report give some indication of what further benefit may be expected in proportion as parents more fully avail themselves of the advantages offered by the system, and as fuller provision is made with regard to staff and equipment there seems to be no doubt that parents will more and more appreciate and utilize the school medical service, and that the public generally will recognize that no labour and no effectively applied expenditure are too great if they result in the building-up of a stronger and healthier race. This can best be done by supervising the welfare of children during their early and formative stages of growth. Without such supervision much of our work on behalf of education and social progress will be severely handicapped, and, what is more important, the health and happiness of a considerable number of our people will be unnecessarily impaired. We have, dsc., Eleanor S. Baker,, \ Elizabeth H. B. Macdonald, I Medical Inspectors of Margaret McCahon, Schools. Agnes G. Paterson, ) The Director of Education, Wellington.