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To make a long story short
- For the third time, the State Administrator in Agder has concluded that Fevik School in Grimstad does not provide 14-year-old Tina with a safe and good school environment.
- Despite previous decisions, the bullying has not stopped, says Tina.
- The school has breached the activity obligation under the Education Act, and has not done enough to provide Tina with a safe and good school environment.
- The school’s principal does not want to comment on the matter, but says on a general basis that they are following the State Administrator’s orders.
- A professor of special education criticizes the school’s measures.
Sea view
At the end of November, Dagbladet told about Tina (14). Over several years, she has experienced bullying at Fevik School in Grimstad.
Now the State Administrator in Agder has made yet another decision in the matter: Fevik school has not fulfilled the activity obligation according to Section 9 A-4 of the Education Act.
This is the third time the family has been upheld by the State Administrator that the school has breached the Education Act. The first time was in 2020.
– I have told Tina many times that “it will get better soon, Tina”, but then nothing happens. There are limits to how many times you can say it will work out, when she sees that nothing is happening. Then all people will lose trust, says Tina’s father Michael.
The school has not done what can reasonably be expected in Tina’s school environment case, says the decision, which Dagbladet has read. The state administrator is the appeals body in such school environment matters.
KEMPER: The father Michael does not give up. – I would claim that the school did not want to do what the Education Act and the Children’s Convention require them to do to ensure Tina a safe school environment, he says. view more
The school’s principal Roald Abrahamsen says he does not want to comment on individual cases. On a general basis, he says:
– The municipality has a good dialogue with the State Administrator in Agder. If the State Administrator revokes a decision or wants to change something in the decision, it is uncomplicated and the school naturally follows the points that are pointed out.
– Not improved
Twice previously, the State Administrator in Agder has concluded that the school is in breach of the activity obligation in the Education Act – the obligation to investigate and introduce measures against bullying.
But according to Tina, the bullying has not stopped. She says that at the moment it’s mostly about foreclosures.
– Nothing has changed at the school, nothing better, Tina tells Dagbladet when we ask if things have improved after the last decision.
– What would you like the school to do?
– That they start teaching me properly, and sit down with me. And that the others are starting to include me, Tina replies.
The school owner has now been given until 10 January 2024 to give feedback on how the school has carried out the orders from the State Administrator.
– We as parents complain and complain, but nothing happens. It doesn’t help to complain to the State Administrator, because the municipality doesn’t listen, says his father Michael.
The first of the school’s measures in the current activity plan for Tina – the plan which will make her school environment safe – is: “We have a plan for a gradual return to school”. The measure is followed up by this: “Tina is met by an environmental worker at the start of school” and “Tina has the telephone number of an environmental worker”.
The audio recording from the principal’s office
– Not a plan
– Why doesn’t the state administrator react to the fact that the measures in the current plan are not professionally sound? This is not an activity plan.
This is what Marie-Lisbet Amundsen says to Dagbladet. She is professor of special pedagogy at the University of Southeast Norway. She has read the State Administrator’s decision, but emphasizes that she does not know Tina and the family beyond this.
Tina’s father says that she has dyslexia. He believes his daughter has not received training that is adapted to her needs.
In the school’s activity plan, it is stated that Tina will have her education arranged through participation in a “practical group”.
Emely (12) died: The unimaginable happened
– It is hair-raising that the school has a “practical group” at all. The school contributes to exclusion by putting children with dyslexia in a “practical group” where they will learn to bake waffles and sweep the floor. It is what we used to call “remedial classes” in the old days, which contribute to stigmatizing children, says Amundsen.
She asks what measures the school should put in place in relation to Tina’s dyslexia problem.
SHOULD BE FOLLOWED UP: Marie-Lisbet Amundsen at the University of Southeast Norway, is clear that the State Administrator should ensure that the school implements measures that work. The State Administrator does not wish to comment on that. Photo: University of Southeast Norway. view more
Tina will otherwise have “Weekly conversations with an adult at school” and “conversations with the health nurse”.
Professor Amundsen has little faith in such “children’s conversations”.
– Tina has already said many times that she is not doing well at school. She experiences “staring” and exclusion. Now she can’t take any more calls – this is not a measure, says Amundsen.
– Hang together
Several point out that online bullying has become worse compared to the past. Media researcher Jessica Yarin Robinson gives a theory as to why it can be experienced that way. Video: NTB/Storyblocks, Dagbladet TV Show more
Amundsen believes that when it comes to bullying, the school must be clear that such behavior will not be tolerated.
In the report, the State Administrator writes that the father must send a new complaint for the academic difficulties.
Professor Amundsen believes it is unacceptable that the State Administrator does not deal with complaints about the school environment (chapter 9 A) and special education (chapter 5) together, when it is actually the same piece of legislation, namely the Education Act.
– When academic difficulties and bullying issues are not seen in context, the action plan can become meaningless, says Amundsen.
Researcher in a dual role
Fevik School is ordered to carry out new investigations, create a new activity plan with suitable and concrete measures to create “friendships and inclusion in the community”.
Grimstad municipality, which owns the school, says they can only comment on a general basis. Anne-Grete Glemming, municipal head of education, says that the schools’ activity plans are professionally justified and are drawn up in collaboration with the student and parents. The activity plans can be changed if it is seen that other measures are necessary, she says.
Dagbladet asks how Grimstad municipality will follow up that Fevik school fulfills its statutory duty to ensure Tina a safe and good school environment.
– On a general basis, I can say that the school owner follows up in cases where the school owner assists in the proceedings or when it appears from the individual decision, replies Glemming.
A lot of bullying
In last year’s Student Survey, 29.4 per cent of students in the 7th grade at Fevik School answered that they are bullied.
APPLIES TO MANY: Tina’s mother, Janne, has previously told Dagbladet that the school is obliged to investigate Tina’s school environment properly. Here is Tina at home with the dog Saga. view more
In the school’s activity plan for Tina, it is listed as a measure that the school participates in a two-year project on a learning environment from the University of Stavanger.
Professor Amundsen believes this to be highly misleading.
– This is not a measure for the child. It is a mandatory measure for schools with high levels of bullying. Fevik School has participated in this learning environment project long before this issue was relevant, says Amundsen.
Difficult to read about bullying?
There are many people who can help. Talk to someone.
On Helsenorge.no you will find an overview of telephone numbers and chat services for children and young people. Red Cross has both a chat and a helpline (800 333 21), it also has Mental health (116 123). Blue Cross has its own Talk about bullying chat, same has Mental Health Youth. The services are free and you can remain anonymous.
Your school is obliged to help you if you experience bullying. Tell your contact teacher or another adult at school. All municipalities are required to have a school health service where you must be able to get help from a health nurse or other health workers.
On Elevombudene.no you will find an overview of the bullying ombudsmen in the various counties, they can also help you.
If there is an acute crisis, call 113.
The state administrator in Agder does not wish to comment on the criticism that appears in this article. They state that they “never comment on individual cases, but it is always serious when pupils do not feel safe and well at school”.
The Grimstad Education Association has been clear over the years that there are major resource shortages in the school, says local team leader Anne Kirsten L Galteland.
– The framework conditions mean that pupils get a poorer academic offer, teaching is given by unqualified teachers, pupils do not receive adapted training, which in turn leads to an increased need for special education, she tells Dagbladet.
2023-12-21 21:51:58
#school #breaks #law
