A HEAD teacher has spoken of her joy after pupils decorated her school fence with messages of support as a surprise.

Pupils at Talbot Primary School in Poole were busy all weekend to ensure their teachers and support staff had a warm welcome when they arrived for work on Monday.

Posters, many covered in rainbows, had messages including "we miss you", "stay happy" and "thank you for helping my mummy and daddy to keep working."

Head teacher Kate Curtis said: "We are so proud of our children. They are so generous with their appreciation and their drive to be a part of our school, even during these strange times when we cannot all be together.

"There were words of encouragement and praise, a huge selection of thank you posters and poems of appreciation and gorgeous pictures drawn by our children. There were also messages about how much they miss us and cannot wait to return to school."

Parent Clare Frankland added: "The children of Talbot Primary are really missing school and their teachers and wanted to let all the staff know how much they are missed and appreciated.

"The teachers have been amazing since the school closed, with help with home learning, email and telephone support for children and parents, posting fun videos and stories as well as the important job of still looking after key workers children."