Every summer, several hundred Bergen residents have great holiday experiences at Bømlo folk high school or at Skjergardsheimen in Øygarden. The offer of a two-week summer camp comes from Bergen municipality and goes to students in 2nd to 7th grade in Bergen’s schools. Now a “risk assessment” of this offer has appeared in municipal case papers on a completely different matter. The conclusion of the assessment is: Bergen City Council believes that the summer camps for 2nd-7th graders have not been safe enough. Bergen municipality’s risk assessment of summer camps In connection with a city council case on “Holiday offers for people with developmental disabilities”, the city council in Bergen has submitted the following information to the city council: Risk assessment of the summer camp offer for school students without developmental disabilities in grades 2 to 7 (…) More of the pupils have a difficult life situation, health and behavioral problems, and often also limited language comprehension. This has affected the holiday stay negatively for other holiday participants. Some pupils have expressed fear towards fellow pupils, and pleasant holiday activities have been ruined or canceled because the staff have had to follow up pupils with major support needs. Certain pupils have exhibited high-risk verbal and non-verbal behavior towards other pupils and staff during the camp stay. Including aggression, violence, harassing behaviour, as well as offensive sexual behaviour. There have been cases where staff have had to make use of emergency measures in the form of detention to prevent damage to themselves, participants and property. In several cases, the camp stay has had to be interrupted for individual students who have been sent back home. It has also been necessary to receive assistance from the child welfare officer. Sending some pupils home has proven to be a risk in itself as parents/guardians had gone on holiday themselves in two cases in 2023. This despite the fact that parents/guardians are aware that they must be available to the children during the period of the camp stay in cases of illness or severe homesickness. (…) In the feedback from the camp managers, it also appears that some students have not complied with safety rules and messages from the staff. This has led to risky situations both in boats and canoes, in cars and on buses and in the general traffic picture. Some children at the summer camps also tell about conditions at home that must be reported to child protection. In such situations, the staff are unsure of how to meet the children in a good and appropriate way, as they themselves lack expertise in the area. (…) These children’s behavior also affects and burdens other holiday participants and staff, and pleasant holiday experiences have been ruined, postponed or cancelled. The organization of the summer camp offer requires a good knowledge of the pupils and families for whom the offer is intended. The city council’s department for the elderly, health and care (BEHO) has no knowledge of the background for the individual child being offered to go to summer camp, nor is it aware of conditions in the child’s home. This entails a risk that children who should not be participating in summer camp are nevertheless sent on the stay. It also explains that school pupils, who initially do not meet the criteria to participate, have been allowed to participate. Source: https://www.bergen.kommune.no/politikere-utvalg/api/fil/bk360/5966174/Framstilling-Ferietilbud-for-personer-med-utviklingshemming- Summer Leirane is an offer for students from families who cannot afford to go on holiday yourself. Photo: Bømlo folk high school Principal: – This is wrong! According to the risk assessment, several incidents involving threats and harassment have meant that good holiday experiences for the other participants have been ruined or cancelled, because the staff had to take care of individual pupils with special needs. Principal Magne Grøneng Flokenes at Bømlo Folkehøgskule objects to this depiction of the summer camp. – This is wrong! There are no more serious things that have happened in two weeks at camp in Bømlo than what happens in a normal primary school in Bømlo, he believes. – That something has been cancelled, that it has affected others, that is not right. Do you think the scheme works well – Does the City Council mention verbal and non-verbal aggression and sexual harassment against both adults and children? – We do not recognize ourselves in this. When children meet, different things naturally arise. Then we talk about how we must behave with each other. If a student becomes disruptive, I take the student away from the group and try to solve it in the best possible way. Day-to-day manager Jan Owe Jensen at Skjergardsheimen also reacts. – I have a positive experience of this scheme. It has worked very well for many years, he says. – But of course there may have been an argument, for example, which meant that a fishing trip had to be postponed until later or the next day. Of course, it could have happened that someone broke a finger. This is what happens with active children. – It is important to have a realistic picture City councilor Marte Monstad (Frp) explains the descriptions in the case file as follows: – It is simply a risk assessment of the offer, based on our experiences with the offer over the past two years. I think it is important that the city council gets a realistic picture of what the holiday offer is like. City councilor Marte Monstad (Frp) is working to change the organization of the offer. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news Rector: – Will be used against us The Rector at Bømlo folkehøgskule says the criticisms come completely out of the blue. – Bergen municipality has never previously communicated to us that they are not satisfied with our offer. On the contrary, they have done the opposite of what I have done. – Then I notified Bergen municipality about events that I thought they would like to know about. I thought that was positive, not that it should be used against us in this way. – That was never really the intention, says city councilor Monstad. – The city council’s intention is that the holiday offer should be experienced as safe and enjoyable for absolutely everyone to take part in. The vast majority of the pupils have had very good experiences with the holiday offer, but at the same time it is somewhat important for me to point out that there have also been a number of challenges. – Good social training Jan Owe Jensen at Skjergardsheimen thinks for his part that the schools in Bergen could inform the summer camp towns better in advance about the individual student’s challenges. Monstad partially agrees. Because she thinks the responsibility for the summer camps should perhaps not lie in her city council department for the elderly, health and care. – I am starting a small cleaning job to find an organization from our side that is better, and to reduce the number of incidents that have happened until now. Jan Owe Jensen at Skjergardsheimen believes that summer camps are good social training for children who are struggling. Photo: Bømlo folkehøgskule Jensen believes that the solution is not necessarily to filter out students who are not allowed to go to summer camp. – You have people who can create demanding situations, but who should certainly have the opportunity to be offered summer camp, so that they get good social training. A fifth grader can be “demanding”, but behave completely differently next summer when he comes back and is confident in the environment. Uncertain if the offer will continue – and where The two leaders at the summer camp sites believe that the city council has now created uncertainty as to whether the offer will be maintained, because the assignment is now being put out to tender at the last minute for this summer. – We are unsure what will happen next with summer camps for children from Bergen. This is an offer they should definitely give. We have not been informed that the offer will continue or not, they say. Monstad says the goal is to offer summer camp this year as well. – I hope and believe that we will make it. But where the camps will be is very difficult to predict before the bidding round.
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– Violence, harassment and abusive sexual behavior at summer camp at Bømlo and Øygarden – news Vestland
