Children at Ocean Acdemy have drawn dozens of pictures depicting happiness to brighten up the walls of a home which cares for residents with dementia.

Almost 70 images ranging from rainbows to flowers, dogs and robins, were produced by creative students to the delight of staff at St Cecilia.

The thoughtful drawings were the idea of Jo Edwards, a Learning Support Assistant at Ocean. She thought they were the perfect way to show her gratitude for the excellent care that staff at the Poole home provided her father, Jack Reeve, 82, who passed away earlier this year.

The sacrifices made by care home staff, NHS doctors and nurses and other frontline workers as the country battles coronavirus has led to an outpouring of support and thanks from the public in recent weeks.

Mrs Edwards, 41, said: ‘’My father was at St Cecilia for a year before he passed away in January. It was the only care home where he felt settled and the staff did an amazing job. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and they couldn’t do enough. I’d given them chocolates and flowers but it didn’t feel enough. I wanted to find another way to thank them and thought pictures from the children would be a nice way of doing it.’’

In order to adhere to the hygiene and social distancing guidelines imposed by the Government, the students took pictures of their drawings which were then emailed to Mrs Edwards.

She then edited the images, printed them off and had them laminated before leaving them on the doorstep of the care home.

Mrs Edwards said the response from staff and residents has made all the hard work worthwhile: ‘’They were over the moon with the images. They have brought a lot of joy.’’