Burglars have targeted schools in Teignbridge over the weekend resulting in the closure of one of them. Gatehouse Primary Academy in Dawlish notified parents yesterday evening, January 28, that it had suffered a second break-in which meant the school could not open today.
It was previously broken into over the Christmas holiday break. In a letter to parents, it confirmed around 15 Kindles had been stolen.
Teignmouth Primary School reported to parents this morning, January 28, that 'minor damage' had been caused following a break-in but pupils were still able to come to school as usual. A parent has reported another education setting in Dawlish was broken into over the weekend, but it has not been confirmed by police.
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Earlier this month, DevonLive reported Starcross Primary School was targeted by thieves over a weekend. It was forced to closed for the day on January 15 because it was 'unsafe' for pupils to attend school. Entry was forced and damaged caused to the building and items inside.
DevonLive has contacted police for information about the spate of break-ins.
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police were called at 5.40 pm on Sunday, January 28, to a premises on Secmaton Lane [Gatehouse Primary Academy] in Dawlish following reports of burglary and criminal damage. It was reported that entry had been forced to the premises and damage caused inside.
"Enquiries are ongoing to establish to full extent of this incident. Anyone with information which may assist our enquiries are asked to contact police on 101 quoting 50240022119."
In the message sent to Gatehouse Primary Academy parents, it states: "Sadly, the school has had a further break-in tonight [January 28]. It has affected multiple areas of the school. Therefore, the trust has reached the decision that the children cannot come on to site tomorrow morning [January 29].
"A further update will follow at 11am via our normal communications channels to advise if the children will be able to come into school later in the day. We understand that you may have concerns and questions. Please bear with us.
"Updates will follow when we have more information. Thanking you for your understanding and support."
The school is part of the First Federation Trust. A trust spokesperson told DevonLive: "We’re sorry to report that Gatehouse Primary School, one of our 21 primary schools at First Federation Trust, had a break-in on the evening of January 28. This is very disruptive for all parents, carers, staff and pupils as we inevitably have to temporarily close the school during the investigation and is, of course, very concerning for all.
"We would like to reassure everyone involved that we are currently looking at potential solutions to try and ensure this doesn’t happen again in the future. If anyone has any relevant information, please contact the police."
The message sent to parents from Teignmouth Primary School in Mill Lane stated: "Unfortunately our school was broken into last night [January 28] which has caused some minor damage in areas of the school. This will not affect our pupils in any way and school will operate as normal. We will update you once we have more news."
