Emely’s school failed to find bullying she reported, court hears

A Norwegian primary school failed to uncover the severe bullying that a 12-year-old girl named Emely reported before she took her own life, witnesses told a court on Monday, according to Dagbladet.

Emely’s parents, Monica and Bengt Frantzen, have filed a lawsuit against Sola municipality, alleging that the municipality’s negligence contributed to their daughter’s death. Under Norway’s Education Act, municipalities are required to ensure a safe and positive school environment for all pupils.

Atle Tanum, former headteacher at Dysjaland skule where Emely was enrolled, told the court that the school had paid particular attention to Emely and drawn up a series of activity plans to help her feel safe. He said the school had increased supervision in the schoolyard and that he was frequently present there himself.

“There were incidents, and we would address them immediately with those involved and their guardians. But we were unable to see some of the painful things that her parents described,” Tanum said in court.

Tanum acknowledged that the case ended in a way he had not foreseen, and stated that the outcome would have been harder to come to terms with had the school not done its part. He added, however, that the school had no knowledge of what had taken place on social media outside school hours.

Tanum also said that activity plans had been introduced precisely because the school environment was not safe and positive for Emely, while maintaining, in contrast to the parents, that Dysjaland skule had the competence required to handle the bullying case.

Former school inspector Hege Byberg Klingsheim told the court that she had no doubt Emely had experienced serious difficulties and felt unsafe, but confirmed that the school had not found evidence of the serious bullying the parents described. She said this made it difficult to confront other pupils about bullying without grounds for an accusation.

Klingsheim acknowledged that this was the basis for the growing distrust the parents had developed toward the school, which eventually led them to move Emely to a different school.

During cross-examination, the parents’ lawyer Svein Kjetil Svendsen asked Klingsheim whether she had been aware of a message sent to Emely urging her to take her own life. Klingsheim confirmed she had been, saying she had spoken with the girl who sent it.

“Emely may have experienced that we did not believe her,” Klingsheim stated in her testimony.

When Svendsen pressed her on the consequences of a child not being believed, Klingsheim responded: “She came to us with things and likely believed she was being believed. That also applied to things she did not tell her parents about.” Asked what the consequences might be, she said: “One can lose trust.”

Klingsheim also told the court that she had been very concerned about Emely when the girl showed signs of an eating disorder.