A school’s explanation for why they removed a monument dedicated to a 12-year-old girl who took her own life has been exposed as a “blatant lie”.
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.
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.
But the school removed the shrine just days later, leaving his heartbroken family devastated.
“Words cannot express how devastated we were,” said Melinda Rodgers, Charlotte’s aunt.
Paulina Skerman, principal of Santa Sabina, originally said that the monument had been removed in the interest of the students.
“Following advice from mental health experts, including Headspace, working with the university, we removed the memorial due to concerns raised about the impact this could have on other young people,” Ms Kerman said.
But 2GB radio host Ben Fordham contacted Headspace, who disputed the director’s version of events.
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).
‘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.
Ms Skerman told Fordham she had been referring to “previous written advice shared with the school about an appropriate memorial for Charlotte”.
Daily Mail Australia has approached Santa Sabina for comment.
Headteacher Ms Skerman previously explained that the school was working “with Charlotte’s family to find a permanent and loving way to remember Charlotte” and promised that the 12-year-old “would not be forgotten”.
Despite this, Charlotte’s father Mat said he was “running out of words” to describe his feelings about the situation.
“From the school’s perspective, if they had given me advice to remove those things, I wouldn’t have touched them,” he told 9News.
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, originally said the monument had been removed in the interests of students following advice from mental health app Headspace.
But Ben Fordham branded this a “straight up lie” after Headspace denied giving such advice.
“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.”
Mat said it had taken weeks to arrange a meeting with Mrs Skerman after Charlotte’s death.
“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 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 has 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,” Mrs. Skerman said.
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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