STAFF at a Clent special school have been told their jobs are under threat after a recent takeover.

Bosses at Sunfield, which provides special needs education and care for children and young people, have told this newspaper all staff roles are ‘under review’, with a redundancy consultation period already underway.

A staff member at the charity, who did not wish to be named, said they believed about 100 people “have got to go” from the school which employs more than 300 staff.

Caroline Bell, Sunfield’s principal said: “We are currently engaged in a collective consultation with the unions and looking at a number of cost-saving measures including non-staffing costs.

“During this process of consultation, all roles are under review.

“We are very keen to minimise compulsory redundancies if we can, and have been looking at a range of other measures as part of an overall review.

“The consultation process has begun and we expect it to take until the end of June to complete, although it is always possible that in some cases it may run into early July at the latest.”

The cost-cutting decision came just days after the school announced it had joined the Ruskin Mill Trust group, which also runs the Glasshouse College in Amblecote.

But Ms Bell said Sunfield’s financial position was “unsustainable” and the children’s home “would have closed” had the trust not stepped in.

She added: “In recent years, as a stand-alone charity, it has become increasingly difficult to sustain the viability of high-quality, staff intensive services within this competitive and financially challenging sector.

“Our proposed reorganisation is not just about getting things back on to a firmer financial footing – it is also intended to set the school on a path to improvement and long-term stability that will allow it to continue its vitally important work. This is obviously an unsettling time.”

But she stressed “Sunfield and the Ruskin Mill Trust remain committed to providing a safe and compliant service for all of the young people placed at Sunfield” and added: “In fairness to all those involved, it would not be appropriate for us to comment or speculate further until the consultation process has been completed and the position properly assessed.”