£36,000 per year private school's hidden history of financial problems
PLUS: Reform UK on Fracking could pit local party against the national party
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead on Wednesday, 9 April.
Today we look at the closure of a private school in the Ribble Valley in detail and we’ve dug up some details from the past that should be interesting to readers.
Any time a private school closes, the easy thing to do is blame Labour policies - which won’t have made things easier for private schools. But when your financial issues stretch back years - it might be time to think about the validity of those statements.
The local elections are coming soon and turnout is likely to be low - such is always the way in local elections. Want to know more about what you could be voting for? Lancashire leaders for every major party will be at our hustings event. You can sign up and submit questions below.
And we also have news on Reform UK’s fracking policy when it comes specifically to Fylde.
History of financial and inspection problems for £36k-a-year Moorland School
By Jamie Lopez
A £36k-a-year private school whose headteacher blamed tax rises for its sudden closure had a history of financial problems and was described as not effectively preparing pupils for life in the outside world.
Moorland School, in Clitheroe, closed the senior school at just two days notice in March, with headteacher Jonathan Harrison blaming “a combination of adverse political and economic factors” for being unable to continue operating.
In a letter to parents announcing the sudden closure, he listed Labour policies of VAT on school fees and the National Insurance rise among factors which also included unpaid school fees.
However, poor financial control at the private school dates back to 2008 with a history of businesses linked to the school being either shut down and replaced by new, debt-free ones or by being placed into and immediately bought out of administration.
This allowed the school to remain open but resulted in significant shortfalls to HMRC, as well as leaving staff, small businesses, suppliers and exam boards heavily out of pocket.
As recently as August 2024, Moorland Private School Limited was closed down with debts of £1.7m, including £500,000 owed to HMRC and £700,000 to Barclays.
Debts listed by administrators included several smaller businesses being owed thousands of pounds but Mr Harrison, speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph last year, said he had settled those using money from his other business interests.
However, The Lancashire Lead spoke with one of the small businesses which was owed money and disputed this statement. P E Bishop, a family-run electrician firm, was listed as being owed £6k on the administrators statement.
According to Stephen Bishop, whose dad set up the company, the school had a long history of making late payments and the debt was previously as high as £12k. While some was repaid from that amount, the full debt was settled. He said they will no longer carry out work at the school.
Meanwhile, others listed as being owed money were the school’s staff who were told at little notice that they had been made redundant and needed to re-apply for their jobs.
One employee was unwilling to accept this and used an employment tribunal to claw back more than £7,000 they should have received in redundancy, notice pay and annual leave.
The tribunal judge, who noted that the management of the new company was largely the same as the old one, found that no formal notification of redundancy or a proposed date of redundancy was given at any stage, just a verbal explanation. No response was even made by the school or its administrators to the claim.
Back in 2008, a previous financial issue was resolved by the company - then Moorland School Limited - being placed into administration with debts of almost £1m. On that occasion, it was bought out just 10 minutes later but those who were owed money were left out of pocket.
The family was also responsible for Heathlands Private School in Accrington, a £9k-a-year facility which closed down in 2022 amid heavy financial losses. On that occasion, families were advised to transfer their children to Moorland.
While Moorland’s senior school has closed, the nursery, infant and junior schools remain open and were described as “thriving” by Mr Harrison.
A recent report, seen by The Lancashire Lead, by the Independent Schools Inspectorate and based on a visit in August 2024 was less positive. While it did offer praise for some areas of education along with the recreation and training on offer, there were also several failings.
Among these, inspectors found leaders had “insufficient oversight” of boarding and some areas of curriculum. Accommodation, food, toilet and washing facilities, risk assessment, staff appraisal and training were all found to be “insufficient or lacking”.
Their report continued: “Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education and relationships and sex education (RSE) are not taught to all pupils. Pupils are therefore not being effectively prepared for life in the outside world. Standards are not met pertaining to pupils’ physical, mental health and emotional wellbeing.”
On the school’s website, Mr Harrison is no longer as principal, with Deborah Frost now named as Head.
In his letter to parents, Mr Harrison said: “My family and I have been custodians of Moorland for nearly forty years and we are absolutely heartbroken that we have had to make the decision to close Moorland Senior School. We have tried absolutely everything to keep the senior school going and Lou and I personally have invested nearly a hundred thousand pounds since the start of the autumn term. Unfortunately we are not in a position to continue to subsidise the senior school.
“I would like to apologise for the incredibly short notice, our hope was that outstanding school fees would have been substantially recovered in time to cover our operational costs prior to reaching the Easter holidays.
“Our hope is that the children quickly find new schools, and continue to flourish in a happy and safe learning environment.”
After the school and Mr Harrison were approached for comment by The Lancashire Lead a response was made by a crisis management firm which has been appointed to act on their behalf.
Steven Bailey, senior consultant at Liverpool-based SBP Crisis and Risk Group, said that Mr Harrison’s family were owed £750,000 by the company at the time of liquidation but still invested further money afterwards.
He said: “In order to maintain continuity for the sake of the pupils and their families, a decision was made, in September 2024, to re-open the schools but despite a further significant injection of funds by Mr Harrison and his family it has simply not been possible for the senior school to remain trading.
“This is as a result of a combination of factors but most significantly the economic viability of the private school model across the UK. Indeed just this week, Parkhill School in Burnley closed after over a hundred years of trading and an “excellent” rating from the ISI. The Department of Education are forecasting that a further thirty private schools will close between now and the end of August 2025.
“We are not familiar with the outcome of the employment tribunal between the former employee and the liquidator as Mr Harrison was not a party to these proceedings.”
Mr Bailey continued to say the family are “working tirelessly to operate and manage” to run the remaining schools and have given regular updates to parents.
He added: “It is unfortunate that the decision to close the Senior school was made at the last moment but this was done because efforts were being made to secure a funding line which ultimately did not come to fruition.”
Mr Bailey continued to criticise parents who owe outstanding fees to the school and the introduction of VAT to school fees.
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The Lancashire Lead to host county council elections hustings
Residents are to get the chance to grill the political parties battling to win control of Lancashire County Council at next month’s local elections.
The ‘Lancashire Decides’ debate will see locals put the politicians on the spot about the issues that matter to them.
The event – co-hosted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Lancashire Post, Blog Preston and The Lancashire Lead – will take place at the Tickled Trout Hotel, on the outskirts of Preston, on Wednesday 16th April at 7.30pm.
The five main parties currently represented at County Hall – the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform UK – are all taking part.
Leaders or senior figures from each of the groups will take questions from the audience and the host of the hustings – local democracy reporter Paul Faulkner – on a range of subjects.
Lancashire County Council accounts for the majority of your council tax bill and is responsible for a raft of the most important local services – including social care for adults and children, highways and transport, schools, public health, economic development and waste processing. It does not cover Blackpool or Blackburn with Darwen.
With local government facing a combination of financial pressure and rising demand for services, this year’s local elections matter as much as ever – so why not come along and help collectively quiz the politicians who want to decide how things are done in your part of the world?
Maybe you would like to probe the parties about a particular local issue or a service you rely on – or perhaps you want to hear about their broader vision for the county you call home.
Doors are at 7pm for a 7.30pm start and you can sign up by going here right now.
Reform UK local party sets itself at odds with the national approach over fracking
By Luke Beardsworth
The Fylde branch of Reform UK has risked setting itself against national party policy in declaring themselves against fracking in Fylde.
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