Frankie Thomas: Girl viewed self-harm sites at school before death

A 15-year-old girl took her own life after spending months viewing graphic content about suicide and self-harm on school equipment, an inquest has heard.

Frankie Thomas, who had autism, was found dead at her home in Witley in Surrey in September 2018.

Her mother Judy Thomas told the hearing she had asked Frankie's school, Stepping Stones, in Hindhead, to monitor the content she was accessing.

The school's former head said a filter on the computer must have failed.

Frankie had a history of harming herself, and had once given her address to a stranger online.

She had use of an iPad and computer at the school, which is attended by children with special educational needs.

Mrs Thomas told the inquest in Woking that it never occurred to her that her daughter would be able to go online without supervision.

She said: "We expected she would be safe. We were in blissful ignorance."

A search of Frankie's school computer showed 10 pages of searches about suicide and self harm dating back to January 2018.

The former head of the school, Melissa Farnham, told the court an IT company was employed to provide an internet filtering system, which should have been checked twice a week.

When asked why Frankie was able to access graphic material on her school laptop from January to March 2018, she told the court: "It means the filter wasn't working."

She also said the filter did not function on iPads.

Mrs Thomas told the hearing that when they were told of their daughter's browsing history it came as a "complete shock".

"It shook us to our roots. It was dangerous, dark and gruesome," she said.

The hearing continues.

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