Two pupils used back gate to escape primary school

The pupils left the Grove School in Totnes

Two pupils were able to leave a Devon primary school unaccompanied, an investigation has found.

The pair, from Year 2, left the Grove School in Totnes on their own during school hours on 9 October, the school's board of governors found in a report seen by the BBC.

In an email to parents, head teacher Hilary Priest said she was "devastated" and felt "wholly responsible".

The school has been contacted for further comment. Devon County Council said it was providing safeguarding advice to the school and governors.

Year 2 is for children aged six to seven years old.

The governors' investigation found the two left via a push-button rear gate during their lunch break at about 12:45.

An initial search began after a staff member found the gate open.

The report said a member of the public then informed the school the pupils were at Morrisons supermarket, about a 10-minute walk away, shortly after 13:00.

The investigation found staff members acted "calmly and efficiently" to identify the missing children.

However, it found the back gate needed to be made more secure, adding that work was under way to address that.

It also said the incident was not reported to the board and the county council "as quickly as it could have been".

The pupils were found at Morrisons supermarket in Totnes, a report said

In an email to parents from Mrs Priest, seen by the BBC, she said she was sorry, "personally quite devastated" and felt "wholly responsible" that "we hadn't had the foresight to prevent this in the first place".

She told parents head teachers nationwide were dealing with issues of whether schools should stick to building and fire regulations "or if you stand up against these and lock the access points from the inside".

She said: "It seems I do need to be braver about standing up to the regs and finding a compromise which means your children can't easily leave the site and being able to exit as a school in an emergency."

The board said a key or code system could replace the push-button gate.

Ofsted said it took "any concerns seriously" and it could not comment on individual cases, but that inspectors would have access to information on the incident.

Devon County Council said: “We were notified of the incident and have provided advice and guidance to the governors to support them in fully discharging their safeguarding responsibilities.”