Bullying in Hodonín: Czech School Inspectorate recommends schools work more on pupil interrelationships, attorney for the injured pupil says the investigation was unethical
Hodonín's schools should focus more on systematically evaluating pupil interrelationships and intensifying their classroom management. Those recommendations are based on the Czech School Inspectorate (ČŠI) findings from an inspection undertaken after a 12-year-old pupil was brutally attacked outside a school building in early February.
The findings were presented by Central School Inspector Tomáš Zatloukal. However, the attacked girl’s legal representative, attorney Petra Naskosová, disagrees with the results of the investigation, criticizing the ČŠI for its one-sided approach.
The In IUSTITIA organization, for which Naskosová works, expressed its view of this issue in a press release sent to the news server Romea.cz. According to Zatloukal, a number of schools in Hodonín are actively engaged in preventing bullying – they have school counseling teams set up and cooperation between teachers and class groups is evident.
“School counseling teams usually operate in these schools and there is visible cooperation between the teachers, the school management, and the class groups,” said Zatloukal. The inspection has also identified weaknesses, for instance, when it comes to evaluating pupil interrelationships, as well as weaknesses with the formal management of class time.
At the same time, the inspection noted a lack of experts specialized in preventing bullying in the educational counseling centers. The inspectorate visited Hodonín in light of an incident from early February, when a 12-year-old pupil was attacked outside the school by other minors and teenagers.
The police are also investigating the case. According to a video posted to social media by the victim’s mother, the minors pulled the girl’s hair, slapped her, and spat on her.
The mother also stated that her daughter had been bullied for a long time, but the school has never addressed the behavior. The principal of Vančurova Elementary School, Andrej Pavlíků, previously said that he had no idea something like this could happen outside of the school.
According to the ČŠI, the principal documented his responses to all of the victim’s mother’s suggestions and the school counseling center properly investigated them. The inspection found that the school did not receive any suggestions that bullying of this pupil was suspected between the end of October 2023 and the start of January 2025.
The Vančurova Elementary School and the Očovská Elementary School (from which, according to Zatloukal, the victim and the main aggressor came), were each found to have a bullying prevention system that is functional, professionally-staffed positions in school counseling offices, and to monitor pupil interrelationships. “We recommended these schools pay more attention to building relationships between pupils, specifically through classroom lessons or joint activities,” said Zatloukal.
The ČŠI will publish the inspection reports from both schools after the statutory deadlines for any comments from the schools have expired.
Attorney for the victim: the ČŠI investigation was one-sided and unethical
In its statement, the In IUSTITIA organization expressed deep concern that the victim and her mother only learned about the ČŠI’s conclusions through the media. “The investigation was carried out one-sidedly, neither the ČŠI nor the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport contacted them in any way to find out how long the bullying had been going on or how the school had approached it,” attorney Petra Naskosová told the Romea.cz news server.
According to the attorney, such a procedure weakens confidence in the objectivity of the entire investigation. “I consider the procedure to be unethical and insensitive to my clients’ mental condition and state of health,” she added.
The attorney also points out that according to the statement of the attacked girl, the bullying also took place on school grounds and her mother has been trying to resolve the situation since 2023. “The fact that the school does not have effective tools to prove individual incidents of bullying, which usually takes place in secret, does not mean that it can declaratively claim that bullying did not occur,” she said, adding that such an approach causes the victim to feel helpless.
Ministry is planning guidance, schools need better instruments
At the Očovská Elementary School, the ČŠI recommended that the school management monitor the pupil interrelationships and the relationships between pupils and teachers much more intensively, and also recommended strengthening the counseling centers with additional experts. According to Zatloukal, social pedagogues in such schools could help, for example, by ensuring better communication between the school and the parents of pupils.
The inspection also recommended that an expert panel be established in Hodonín with representatives of the establishers of these schools (i.e. the South Moravian Regional Authority and the town itself), all of the other schools in Hodonín, the police, child welfare authorities, and other institutions, said Zatloukal. The Education Ministry, together with the Czech Institute of Education and the National Pedagogical Institute, is preparing methodological support for schools that will help them more effectively manage crisis situations, strengthen the school climate, and protect the mental health of pupils and students, Education Minister Mikuláš Bek (Mayors and Independents – STAN) posted to the X network.
According to Bek, the inspection’s conclusions do not in any way prejudge the criminal investigation into the case, which is still ongoing. Zatloukal also pointed out that the environment external to the schools has a strong influence on local minors which, according to him, is characteristic of areas such as Hodonín.
“The raising of children does not begin with the first lesson or end with the last lesson at school, but must also take place in families. Many of these problems and risky behaviors escalate not in the schools, but outside of them, in public spaces, in the virtual environment,” said Zatloukal.
According to the Central School Inspector, no school can influence that fact, but they need to have the information that such behavior is happening so they can set up prevention programs.
Full statement from attorney Petra Naskosová
The victim and her mother were only able to learn of the conclusions which have been drawn by the Czech School Inspectorate (ČŠI) through the media. The investigation was carried out one-sidedly, neither the ČŠI nor the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport contacted them in any way to find out how long the bullying had been going on or how the school had approached it. Such an approach weakens confidence that the investigation was carried out thoroughly and with the aim of clarifying the chain of events leading to the brutal attack on the victim.
I am also surprised by the way the investigation report was published, which did not take into account my client’s needs or those of her mother as persons currently dealing with the consequences of this crime and the ongoing criminal proceedings. I consider the procedure to be unethical and insensitive to my clients’ mental condition and state of health, as well as disadvantageous to them in general, as they are currently unable to comment in any way on the ongoing proceedings.
The case is currently under criminal proceedings, and the conclusions of the Czech School Inspectorate may give the impression that no illegal conduct occurred on school grounds. This is not in line with the experience of the victim, who repeatedly faced attacks and threats from her classmates which also occurred on school grounds, e.g. during breaks. Her mother has been actively trying to resolve the situation with the school since 2023, but none of the measures allegedly taken prevented the victim from being attacked.
I cannot dispute the conclusions of the ČŠI investigation that the school has acted in accordance with all regulations and standards, but in a situation where the victim repeatedly pointed out that she was a victim of bullying and was not even offered crime victim services, I perceive those standards themselves to be insufficient. The fact that the school does not have effective tools to prove individual incidents of bullying, which usually takes place in secret, does not mean that it can declaratively claim that bullying did not occur. By making this statement, it is leaning towards one side of the dispute. That arouses an absolute feeling of helplessness and distrust in the victim.
I also see the role of schools to be the prevention of bullying and crime in general. No one expects schools to investigate violent incidents which occur outside their premises, but if they do occur, schools should not turn a blind eye to the needs of such victims, who inevitably encounter bullies at school, too.
I would like to familiarize myself with the entire ČŠI investigation concerning my client, and I expect it to be made available to her.
