PARENTS of youngsters at an Evesham school enjoyed a fantastic goody bag as they sent their little ones off to school for their first day.

St Andrew’s CE School gave out goody bags to teary parents as they dropped off their four and five-year-old children at Hampton school.

The thoughtful goodie bag contained a teabag, a chocolate biscuit, and that all-important packet of tissues. It also had a poem attached, which read: "Thank you for leaving your child at St Andrew’s.

"Go home, put your feet up and have a cup of tea. Tissues are inside in case you shed a tear. But there’s no need to worry, we’ll look after them here.

"Learning to read, learning to write and counting up to 20. Making new friends, singing in the rain and junk modelling aplenty.

"Before you blink they’ll be back at home with you. With tales of wonder, of excitement and of learning all things new."

The idea was suggested by Sharon Mathers, from the school, who said: “I saw the poems and decided to put together a goody bag for the parents as it is very important to us to show them that we have a nurturing and caring ethos, and that we are approachable.

"We want to work in unison with all our parents and carers to build a strong, long-lasting partnership and make them feel assured that their children are happy, safe and learning.”

The school’s headteacher, Andrea Bailey, said: “It is the first time we have done this and we thought we would try something different.

"It’s a big thing for parents and carers when they take their children to school for the first time.

"We have had an immensely positive reaction and hopefully helped parents to relax for a few hours.”