AN EAST Lancashire school has become one of the first in the country to install cameras so parents can watch their children's progress.

Sunny Bank Preparatory School, Manchester Road, Burnley, has installed webcams which allow parents to monitor classroom life from their home or office.

Cameras dotted throughout the privately-run, independent school film pupils from the minute they arrive to when they leave. The system shows the school in real time, but recordings can be retrieved and saved on CDs.

Headmistress Barbara Cross said she was initially concerned over internet security but after being satisfied with precautions over access to the footage, decided to go ahead - and said the first month had been a "total success".

Webcam systems have previously been installed at children's nurseries in Lancashire but Mrs Cross, who has worked at the school for almost 14 years, said the move towards installing it in schools was a wonderful idea.

She said: "As we take children from three months to the age of 11, parents traditionally have missed out on many of their children's 'firsts'. Now they need never worry that they might miss the child's first steps of first word because we can show them recorded footage."

The cameras have also been a comfort for anxious parents who have dropped off poorly or crying children.

Mrs Cross, added: "Normally as soon as mum or dad is out of view the child stops crying and starts settling down to play with friends. Parents can now get peace of mind by logging on to the site and watching them or if they don't have internet access we have a large screen in the entrance hall where parents can stop and check that they are all right."

All parents have their own passwords and user names and if a password is entered incorrectly access to the site is denied for the following three hours.

The website also logs off after five minutes, in case computers have been accidentally left on and could be being viewed by an unauthorised person. The system has been used in American schools for over five years now.

Currently there are no webcams in any of Blackburn with Darwen schools but it is an idea that Coun Dave Hollings, executive member for education, said he would be interested in researching.

He said: "I can see the benefits of cameras for parents who are anxious about leaving children but for many it may not be practical and some will not have access to a computer.

"The cost of it may be prohibitive and I would want to check that the system was totally secure before we started filming children in any schools."

Sheffield-based Teletoddlers, which installed the system, said it had only fitted out one other school - in Huddersfield.