THE NSPCC is to close its Middlesbrough base and end a service helping children whose parents have mental health issues.

The charity will on Friday close its Service Centre on Park Road South which was refurbished in 2012 at a cost of £300,000 and make eight of its staff redundant.

However it will massively expand its successful School Service which aims to teach pupils about various forms of abuse.

The service centre was re-opened in October, 2012 after a major refurbishment which involved creating more space for workshops to help vulnerable children, play rooms and more office space. It was also made more colourful and child friendly but will now close just four years after the improvements.

A spokesman for the NSPCC explained that its child safeguarding experts had reached 5,527 schoolchildren in the Middlesbrough area through the Schools Service at 46 primary schools to help them better understand what constitutes abuse. Now managers at the Middlesbrough operation now expect to have reached 20,837 children across Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Redcar and east Cleveland by the end of 2016/17.

The spokesman said that nine service centres are to be closed across the country of which Middlesbrough is one. He promised that no child or family dealing with mental health issues in Middlesbrough currently being supported would be “left in the lurch” but confirmed that the programme, called Family Smiles, was being wound down.

He said: “The NSPCC is there for millions of children across the UK and has provided support and help when they need it most.

“We want to reach five million children by 2021 and make sure stopping child abuse is everyone’s business, but the way we work is changing.

“This decision follows a review of the number of bases we need to deliver our strategy. But we are not abandoning anywhere, our expanded schools service, helplines and products for parents mean we will be there for even more children who need our support.”

The spokesman explained the Schools Service helps five to 11-year-olds develop an understanding of abuse that previous generations lacked.

It will be linked to the expert training and consultancy the charity offers through an expanded online learning programme to build a stronger safeguarding culture.

The NSPCC also has plans to build on previous programmes designed to help parents keep children safe online. The charity also aims to further developer the Childline telephone advice programme which will in future be open 24 hours and seven days a week.