Published10 November 2026, 14:24 GMT
A school's strict rules contributed to the suicide of a 15-year-old boy and there is a risk of future deaths, a coroner had concluded.
An inquest at Exeter Coroner's Court heard Taylor Lee, a pupil at Ivybridge Community College, Devon, part of Westcountry Schools Trust, took his own life in November 2023.
Area coroner Alison Longhorn ruled the cause of Lee's death was suicide, but also concluded he struggled with what he perceived as unfair school sanctions.
Longhorn is preparing a rare Prevention of Future Deaths report. These are made when a coroner identifies circumstances which create a risk of future deaths.
The report will require action to be taken to prevent harm.
Lee, from Plymouth, died weeks after he complained publicly about the school's introduction of stricter rules about being on time for lessons.
Ivybridge Community College uses a system of what it described as "reset" and "reflection" – by which pupils are separated from their classmates for part or the whole of the school day.
If pupils arrived after the "late bell", they face being put in internal exclusion, sometimes known as "isolation".
Warning: this story contains references to suicide and self-harm
Before his death, Lee posted on a Facebook page for parents his concerns about the behaviour policy at Ivybridge Community College.
He wrote: "I have very strong views on the school itself due to, not only the mental health issues it has caused me, but also the un-logical system it has in place.
"I'm a Year 11 and I've sat through from Year 7 and watched the school change dramatically, and I think this is the worst I've ever seen it.
"On the second day back after being sent to reflection for being 47 seconds late to tutor… What they are doing to us inhumane… I, as a student alone, am sick of waking up every day and dreading it."
Lee complained to principal Rachel Hutchinson about what he felt were the unfair rules and he was suspended.
'Frustrations with school'
The inquest heard from PC Tonice Edkins, a school liaison officer with Devon and Cornwall Police, who had been working with Lee.
She described him as having "fragile mental health" and said his "frustrations with school" and "managing the stricter rules" were the main causes of his stress and anxiety.
The inquest heard that, although Lee, who lived with his family in Plymouth, was on the Special Educational Needs (SEND) register, teachers were not usually given any discretion if he was late to lessons.
Edkins told the court Lee felt as he was being "set up to fail".
Longhorn asked Edkins if she had contacted the school over her concerns for Lee's mental health.
The officer said that, after a series of meetings with Lee, she emailed assistant principal Amy Pearce, warning the impact of the school's "punitive approach'' could negatively effect the vulnerable pupils she was helping.
She expressed her fear that "shaming" young people with multiple sanctions could exacerbate mental health struggles, leading to children feeling they were "not good enough" and "worth less than others".
The inquest heard Edkins did not receive a reply to her email.
She said, as far as she was aware, no arrangements were made to help Lee in the stricter school environment.
The coroner asked what kind of response Edkins hoped for from the school.
Edkins said: "I would have thought just being a bit more compassionate and understanding towards someone struggling with self-esteem – for Taylor to receive a bit more compassion and understanding around that time."
A lawyer for Lee's family asked principal Rachel Hutchinson if this was a missed opportunity to consider the impact of the new behaviour policy on students like him. Hutchinson agreed it was.
Hutchinson said she felt Lee's SEND needs were "competently met" by the school, adding Lee "struggled with the culture" the leadership was trying to create.
Lee's mother, Michelle Lee, raised her concerns on 6 November 2023 about the number of resets and reflections he was being given.
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Richard Brooks, a youth worker who met Lee several times in the autumn term, told the inquest he seemed "unhappy" and "apprehensive".
He said Lee told him "every day [at school] was a battle and it's exhausting".
The inquest heard that, in the month before Lee died, he broke down in tears at school on 2 October and told a member of staff he had self-harmed and was thinking about suicide.
Asked by the coroner what action the school took after this disclosure, Hutchinson said they contacted his parents and "kept a closer eye on him".
But the coroner concluded there was no evidence Lee's teachers were informed he had self-harmed or was having suicidal thoughts.
The family's counsel said Lee was "highly intelligent" and a "talented musician" who enjoyed spending time with his friends and skateboarding.
The inquest heard his parents found him unconscious in his bedroom. He died on 18 November 2023.
Longhorn concluded that, while Lee had experienced mental health issues for some time, his treatment at school and what he saw as unfair school sanctions had the most significant impact on his mood.
Strict schools: Taking discipline too far?
File on 4 Investigates the use of internal isolations in secondary schools in England and hears from parents and students who say such techniques are affecting their mental health.
Longhorn said there was overwhelming evidence he struggled with the change in the rules and his experience at school "more than minimally contributed to his mental deterioration".
She said she would be making a Prevention of Future Deaths report because Ivybridge Community College did not consider the impact of stricter rules on students like Lee, and had not changed its behaviour policy since his death.
She said, should the same situation arise, she was not confident the college would not handle it correctly.
Addressing Lee's family, Longhorn said: "I'm sorry for your loss.
"I can see how much he meant to you and how much you miss him."
A spokesperson for the Westcountry Schools Trust said it would be "closely studying" the coroner's report.
It described Taylor Lee's death as "tragic" and said his loss was felt across the school community.
It said: "Over the past three years, the school's approach to safeguarding and behaviour has been inspected both by Ofsted and the local authority and has been deemed to meet all the required standards.
"However, neither the school nor the trust are complacent on such issues and amendments will be kept under careful review as a result of the coroner's report.
"We will be closely studying the coroner's report into the tragic death of Taylor Lee, which is still felt across the school community three years on."
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