Father of JFS suicide pupil appeals to parents: ‘Do not close ranks’ over bullying

Social media posts may have sparked the suicide of a 14-year-old pupil of the Jewish Free School, her father has said.

Mia Janin’s father Mariano has pleaded with all the school’s parents to come forward to help him to discover why his daughter Mia took her own life in March 2021.

He believes toxic posts or videos on social media may have led to the death of his daughter, whom fellow students said had been a victim of bullying.

“This whole experience has been a nightmare too horrible to explain,” he told The Times. “Every day feels like I’m living in slow motion. Parents with information – please take it to the coroner.

“We need to know what happened for the sake of other children and also for Mia.”

Janin became the third student at the Jewish state school in north London to die by suicide since 2017 when she passed away one day after returning to school at the end of lockdown last year.

The Year 10 student reportedly asked her parents if she could move to a different school the night before her death.

Investigators found she had sent a voice message to a friend, before the first day back, saying she was “mentally preparing myself to get bullied by him [an unnamed other pupil] and all his friends”.

Mariano also said he knows Mia logged into a social media app – either Yolo or Houseparty – just hours before her death, but doesn’t know what she saw, sent, or received.

Her phone was handed over to the police in the wake of her death, but has remained locked, leaving Mariano and the rest of Mia’s family not knowing, for more than year, what might have sparked her death.

It will be unlocked before the next hearing into Mia’s death takes place on Wednesday – and Mariano hopes investigators will find the catalyst that prompted his daughter to end her life.

Mariano, an architect, added: “I do not want any other parent to be in my shoes. The whole experience has been a nightmare that is too horrible to explain. Every day feels as though I am living in slow motion.

“Parents with information – please take it to the coroner. We need to know what happened. Do not close ranks.”

Janin became the third student at the Jewish state school in north London to die by suicide since 2017 when she died one day after going back to school after lockdown last year.

Mia’s death closely resembles that of Molly Russell, another 14-year-old student from nearby in Harrow, who died in 2017 after checking social media posts, prompting Ofsted’s emergency investigation into the school. Molly’s father Ian is supporting the Janin family in demanding answers.

Ofsted’s report downgraded the largest Jewish school in Europe from “good” to “unsatisfactory” and announced that many JFS students had been subjected to harsh bullying with little to no intervention from staff.

The report said: “Not all students adhere to the correct boundaries. Relationships between some students are damaged by undisputed, inappropriate behavior.

“In some cases, this has escalated to harmful behavior, including sexual harassment. Many students report sexual bullying, also via social media.”

The school gave assemblies afterwards about sexting –  sending messages with sexual language and nude photos – and parents were advised about supervising their teeenagers’ phone use at night.

A change.org petition launched by one of Mia’s peers accused the school of refusing to acknowledge the death of the Year 10 student and called for renewed mental health care for participants in JFS.

“We had a meeting the same day where we introduced our interim headteacher and not once did they mention Mia or bullying or prioritizing mental health… It should be known that JFS has not taken responsibility for their role in this tragic incident. … they have done nothing to support anyone further and they claim they want their students to feel safe,” the petition read, claiming Mia was “brutally bullied for so long.”

JFS’ new headteacher, David Moody, said: “All aspects of this case are currently being investigated by external agencies including the police and coroner’s office. Like the family, the school is waiting for the findings of the eternal investigations to be published and we hope that the publication will be as soon as possible. JFS is a school that is always looking to improve and we will ensure that any recommendations or conclusions are acted upon.”

Mia’s mother Marisa, who found her body in their bathroom, died of an agressive form of sudden-onset cancer months afterwards. Mother and daughter are buried alongside each other in Israel.

The teenager’s bedroom has remained virtually untouched since her death, with her study books still ready to be used.

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