A school in Dorchester has become one of the first in the country to open to all of its pupils following the outbreak of COVID-19.

On Monday Year Two and Year Three pupils at The Prince of Wales School joined pre-school, reception, year one and year four pupils in emerging from lockdown.

The school is now open to all pupils wishing to attend.

Headteacher at The Prince of Wales School in Dorchester, Gary Spracklen, said: “Following a change in the Department for Education Guidance last week, we have worked hard to create the additional capacity to support all children returning.

"This has involved converting our Library, Staff Room and School Hall into classroom spaces and borrowing exam tables from The Thomas Hardye School.

"We’ve also worked with Dorchester Central Scouts to install a marquee on our school field as well as securing sponsorship from ‘Gratnells Learning Rooms’ to install a temporary classroom on our school car park.

"At all times, the health and safety of our pupils and staff have been central to our planning and delivery".

Mr Spracklen explained how the school has adopted a “Your Child, Your CHOICE’ ethos and will continue to fully support children and families who choose to stay at home”.

He said that The Prince of Wales School will continue to do this through their “Virtual School Programme and associated support activities including phone calls, food parcels, physical resource deliveries, loan of school equipment (including desks, chairs and Chromebooks) and virtual ELSA sessions (as required)”.

Speaking about her return to school, Year 2 pupil Charlotte said, “It’s brilliant to be back at school.

"We are all in new “Kingdoms”, each Kingdom has no more than fifteen children in. We have to follow new rules and routines to keep us safe.

"We have a one way system and new playground markings”. Year 4 pupil Jasper adds, “I think it’s really important that we get to say good-bye properly before moving on to Middle School. I have loved my time at The Prince of Wales School and I am so pleased I get to spend five more weeks here with my friends before moving on”.

The school is now planning a summer catch-up programme to support those learners that may need some face to face support before coming back to school in September.

Mr Spracklen added:“Our summer catch-up programme will be optional and will be targeted to support those most in need of face to face support.

"Sessions will run throughout July and August and will take place both on site with appropriate social distancing measures in place and remotely using video conferencing technology.

We look forward to sharing more details about this with parents and carers in due course."

The Prince of Wales School is a fully inclusive Mainstream First School in Dorchester, Dorset with a wide range of experience of successfully meeting the needs of children with significant barriers to their learning. The School has resourced provision for children with physical disabilities, mainly cerebral palsy. Staff are trained and positive about including children with serious medical conditions, children with learning difficulties and a variety of syndromes within an inclusive mainstream environment. The School has a strong SEND team with specialisms in dyslexia, movement and coordination issues, speech and language, social communication difficulties and Aspergers Syndrome'. The School has an ethos that welcomes all learners and seeks to inspire everyone to learn.