Coroner raises concerns over bullying after London school suicide

A coroner has raised concerns about bullying at a north London school following the suicide of 14-year-old student Mia Janin.

“Kind, witty and creative” Mia took her own life at her family home in Harrow in March 2021 after being bullied by boys at the Jewish Free School (JFS).

North London Coroner Tony Murphy, who chaired Mia’s inquest at Barnet Coroner’s Court last month, has now issued a rare “preventing future deaths” report to the JFS, expressing concern there are ongoing bullying issues at school, particularly involving boys targeting girls.

He acknowledged the “systemic” changes made by JFS since Mia’s death, but said he feared those changes did not go far enough.

He said at Mia’s inquest, students had described “regular incidents of gender-based bullying”, which he was concerned could lead to “a risk of further deaths”.

“The current director … gave evidence at the final inquiry hearing about the systemic changes introduced at JFS following Mia’s death,” Mr Murphy said in his report to JFS.

“This included a full review of safeguarding practices, increased behavior management, improved information, staff surveys and sessions delivered externally by charities including Norwood, Streetwise, Jewish Womens Aid and Keshet.

“Evidence provided by some JFS students after Mia’s death to the police and Ofsted described regular incidents of gender-based bullying by some male JFS students to female JFS students.

“Some of these child witnesses did not experience a change in culture at JFS since Mia’s death and did not describe being consulted or questioned about changes introduced by JFS.”

Mr Murphy added that “any ongoing gender-based harassment at JFS raises concerns that circumstances will arise which create a risk of further deaths”.

“Initiatives introduced by JFS to address gender-based bullying following Mia’s death do not appear to have won the confidence of some JFS students, raising concerns that circumstances will arise or continue to exist that create a risk of further deaths. , in the future,” he said.

Head teacher Dr David Moody said JFS was taking the coroner’s comments “incredibly seriously”, but said the testimony given by pupils at Mia’s inquest was “not a reflection of the school today”.

The co-educational complex is the largest Jewish school in Europe, with over 2,000 students aged between 11 and 18.

In a statement to the Standard, Dr Moody, who has been JFS director since December 2021, said: “We thank the coroner for his investigation.

“The witness statements referred to by the coroner were taken in late 2021 or early 2022, shortly after I joined JFS, and are not a reflection of the school today.

“As part of the school’s ‘Good’ Ofsted rating in April 2022, Ofsted reported that ‘pupils know who and where to turn if they have any concerns.’ Students felt confident to report any concerns as staff were supportive. Staff are alert to any incidents of bullying and act quickly to address any bullying issues.

“We have a team of eight full-time professionals who work with any child who reports mental health issues and it is one of the most comprehensive provisions I have seen in a state school.

“That said, we take the coroner’s comments and observations incredibly seriously and will share with him all the details of the support and systems that are now in place.”

Year 10 student Mia was last seen alive at around 10pm on March 11, 2021, when she said good night to her parents in their family home.

Tragically, she was found dead in her bedroom at 6.50am the following day by her mother, Marisa. Two undated letters to her “loving family and friends” were found on her bed, explaining that she had decided to end her life.

Neither Mia’s family nor her teachers knew that she had been bullied before her death.

But evidence given by friends at her inquest said she had been regularly bullied by boys at school.

The inquest heard how police believed “horrible” messages were circulated about her on the Snapchat group and negative comments left on a TikTok video she posted days before her death.

A statement from a friend of Mia’s, read at her inquest, said the boys shared the TikTok video in a Snapchat group chat where they also shared nude photos of girls.

Rabbi Howard Cohen, a former assistant principal at JFS, told the inquest that after Mia’s death there was “something seen around the school” about what he described as “boys-only bravado groups” sharing images of girls and was informed of a WhatsApp group of boys where members were rating the “attractiveness” of female students.

But there was no reason to believe that groups related to Mia, Rabbi Cohen said.

Mia’s best friend Martha, who has since left JFS, told the inquest that their friendship group was relentlessly attacked, but what Mia experienced was “on a different scale”.

“They would call her names, make fun of what she said … just mock her,” she later told the BBC.

Mia’s father released a WhatsApp voice note his daughter sent to a friend on the night of her death, which revealed the devastating toll the bullying had taken.

“Tomorrow is going to be a tough day,” Mia was heard saying, audibly upset, in the recording shared by BBC London.

“Stay with me. I’m taking a deep breath, in and out. I’m currently mentally preparing myself to be assaulted tomorrow.”

Mia’s father, Mariano Janin, paid tribute to his daughter, saying: “She was fantastic, she was very bubbly, good sense of humour, she was beautiful, she was very kind, very creative.”

A few months after Mia’s death, her mother died at the age of 59, shortly after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. “She was healthy and a fighter, but she just couldn’t take what happened to Mia,” Mr Janin. he later told the Telegraph.

In a statement after Mia’s inquest, Mr Janin said: “Nothing will bring back my wife and my daughter Mia.

“For nearly three years I have searched for answers to the loss of Mia, today I found some of those answers and the failure of the people who trusted and were kept to keep her safe.

“My daughter suffered prolonged and sustained bullying in various ways, in person and online. In a way, it is a relief that this has now been recognised, however, there must be accountability. Another family cannot experience what I experienced.”

He added: “To protect our children, I think we have to do a lot of things.

“I think we need to put some limits on children’s access to the internet and how we can retain data if something like this happened. We must create a safe environment for our children.

“We need to learn from our mistakes to avoid this happening again.”

For mental health support, get in touch Samaritans on 116 123, email them at [email protected] or visit samaritans.org.