PARENTS will be able to get all the latest information about what is happening at a Dorchester school in the palm of their hands.

The Prince of Wales First School has become one of the first schools in the country to launch its own iPhone application for parents and carers.

The new technology, which was developed by the school’s ICT co-ordinator Gary Spracklen, offers people the chance to keep track on news from the school.

Mr Spracklen said: “The iPhone App has been developed in consultation with parents and carers and is intended to support the strong communication links between home and school.

“Our parents and carers like to have a choice in how they access information. The iPhone App is an excellent development which supports the wide choice of communication channels already used by the school.”

He added: “It’s not going to replace anything such as the face-to-face contact and letters, it’s just another way they can get hold of information.

“We put out a parental survey asking how they would like to access information and the big thing that came back was mobile devices.”

Mr Spracklen said the school was also looking at developing applications for other phones for those parents or carers who did not have an iPhone.

He added that The Prince of Wales School was only the fourth primary school in the country to bring out its own iPhone App and the first outside London.

Mr Spracklen said: “We are very much leading the way.”

The tool allows users to view a school calendar as well as offering a news section where each class will be regularly updating its own blog.

There is also a built in feature that allows users to contact the school office.

Parent and curriculum governor for ICT Katie Gallego said: “Having this sort of information in the palm of your hand is invaluable as a parent.”

The iPhone App, which was launched at the school’s parent ICT evening, is now available to download through iTunes.

Mr Spracklen said: “It was really well received and went down very well.”