Jarrow's SBC School closes after seven months

SBC School catered for boys aged between nine and 16 who were 'excluded from mainstream education'

An independent school which aimed to "improve the life chances of boys excluded from mainstream education" has closed after seven months.

SBC school opened in Jarrow, South Tyneside, in September.

In January, assault allegations were made by a pupil against two people in the management team and the council withdrew pupils it had placed there.

Head teacher Gareth McCullough said it "could not continue to run with its high staffing and operating costs".

Police found no wrongdoing following the assault allegations but the pupils were not returned.

'A whirlwind'

The school catered for boys aged between nine and 16 with social, emotional and mental health needs.

It cost councils £24,000 per pupil and was registered to accommodate 50 students.

At the time of its closure, SBC had 17 pupils.

One catering worker, who did not want to be named, said: "Everything was really great and then all of a sudden it turned upside down.

"It was like 'the children have been removed' and we didn't know what was going on. It was just a whirlwind."

South Tyneside Council did not disclose why it was no longer using the school, which was praised by Ofsted in December.

But it said that alternative educational arrangements had been put in place for the small number of children who attended.

'Too costly'

Mr McCullough was the executive head teacher, proprietor and also owned the parent company, Harbour Schools Group.

He said he could not give "any specific details around the investigations into the school" as they were protected by a confidentiality order.

"But I can say that although the allegations were concluded as unsubstantiated, there were improvements that were found that could be made... and we were working with the LA to achieve this," he said.

"Unfortunately, the time delay of the investigation and the improvements proved too costly and the school could not continue to run with its high staffing and operating costs."

He said attempts were made to reduce overheads by offering staff "temporary layoffs" while changes went ahead and then "bring back the team when revenue streams opened again".

"Unfortunately, this was rejected, and we were left with no choice but to close," he added.