A school has apologized to the family of a 12-year-old girl who took her own life after backlash over the removal of her monument and criticism of the principal’s handling of the situation.
Year 7 student Charlotte O’Brien took her own life in September after experiencing relentless bullying while attending St Sabina Catholic School in the inner west Sydney suburb of Strathfield.
After her death, Charlotte’s family created a memorial near the school, only for the school to remove it days later, leaving her loved ones devastated.
Last week, director Paulina Skerman initially defended the decision, citing advice from mental health experts at Headspace.
“Following the advice of mental health experts, including Headspace, who are working with the university, we removed the memorial due to concerns raised about the impact this could have on other young people,” said Cllr Kerman.
But 2GB Sydney breakfast host Ben Fordham contacted Headspace, who disputed the director’s version of events.
‘Headspace did not recommend that Santa Sabina or Paulina Skerman remove the monument dedicated to Charlotte. To say they did is a blatant lie,” Fordham told his listeners Friday morning.
He added: “That never happened. Headspace did not advise Paulina Skerman or anyone at Santa Sabina to remove it.
The seventh-grade student tragically committed suicide in September
Following the tragic death of the 12-year-old girl, Charlotte’s heartbroken family installed a memorial in a tree near the school with a small plaque, photo and flowers (pictured: Charlotte’s grandfather Bill at the site memorial).
But the shrine was mysteriously removed just days later, leaving his heartbroken family devastated (pictured).
Following Fordham’s revelations last week, the school apologized Monday morning.
“We are devastated for Charlotte’s family and friends, and recognize that some of the university’s initial statements to the media were inappropriate and hurtful.
‘We apologize to Charlotte’s family for this. It was never our intention to increase your pain.
‘We recognize that at times our efforts have been insufficient and we sincerely regret this.
‘The decision to remove the public memorial was difficult, balancing the desire to honor Charlotte’s memory with our responsibility to prevent further distress for students.
‘Mrs Skerman was grateful to visit Charlotte’s parents, Kelly and Matt, to personally apologize to them.
‘We are committed to working together to create a permanent memorial to remember Charlotte. She will not be forgotten.’
Charlotte’s family has criticized Santa Sabrina College following her death.
They claim the school could have done more to stop the bullying Charlotte experienced before taking her life, even though the issue was raised several times.
Paulina Skerman (pictured), principal at Santa Sabina, has personally apologized to Charlotte O’Brien’s family.
It follows 2GB presenter Ben Fordham exposing that the school’s reasoning for removing the monument was an “outright lie”.
“She wrote a goodbye note specifically mentioning the bullying she received at school,” Charlotte’s mother said.
‘She said life was too difficult for her to continue.
‘When the most recent case of bullying was raised, the school simply said it was investigated and the girls denied it. That’s all. Case closed. Move on.
‘Well, my beautiful daughter’s life will not go on and I will never be able to say goodbye to her.
‘These issues cannot be swept under the rug. I will also not let the memory of my daughter be swept under the rug.
‘How many more children will have to lose their lives before contracting it? How many parents need to feel the pain of not being able to pick up their child from school again before receiving them?
“We are forever broken.”
They also criticized the school’s response after Charlotte’s death, with Mat claiming it took weeks to arrange a meeting with Principal Skerman.
When the meeting finally took place, they claim they were fired.
“That glimmer of hope that something positive could come from that meeting was crushed the moment we arrived,” he said.
‘We had to navigate the school grounds, surrounded by other girls in school uniforms, knowing we would never see our daughter again. “That was incredibly hard for us,” he said.
A memorial to Charlotte (pictured) outside the school was removed on Monday, further fueling her parents’ grief.
‘We got there and met with the director. When I shared the comments, she wasn’t interested in receiving them. The feedback was interrupted. It was discounted. He didn’t agree.
“I sat in front of a lady (the director) who showed neither me nor the rest of the family any emotion or empathy at all.”
Asked if the headteacher apologized in any way for his daughter’s death, Mr O’Brien said there was “no responsibility at all”.
‘The questions we wanted answers just weren’t answered at all. “They let us show ourselves outside the school grounds,” he said.
Santa Sabina College previously defended its handling of harassment, saying its anti-harassment policy was available on its website.
“Last week, I was overwhelmed by the number of emails and messages from our families talking about their children feeling safe and cared for at Santa Sabina College,” said Principal Skerman.
He said parents “objected to the depiction of our university as incapable of addressing issues that cause distress among our students.”
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