Area coroner Alison Longhorn concluded that Taylor, from Plymouth, struggled with what he saw as unfair school rules, and that his experience at school more than minimally contributed to his mental deterioration. She said Ivybridge Community College had not considered the impact of stricter rules on students like Taylor and had not changed its behaviour policy since his death. Longhorn is preparing a Prevention of Future Deaths report, which will require action to prevent harm.
Ivybridge Community College, part of Westcountry Schools Trust, operates a system of “reset” and “reflection” that separates pupils from classmates for part or all of the school day. Students arriving after the “late bell” face internal exclusion, sometimes called isolation. Taylor publicly criticised the policy weeks before his death, posting on a Facebook page for parents that he called the system “inhumane” and said he dreaded going to school. He also complained to principal Rachel Hutchinson and was suspended.
Police school liaison officer PC Tonice Edkins, who had been working with Taylor, described him as having “fragile mental health” and said his frustrations with school and the stricter rules were the main causes of his stress and anxiety. Although Taylor was on the Special Educational Needs (SEND) register, teachers were not usually given discretion if he was late. Edkins told the court she emailed assistant principal Amy Pearce warning that the school's “punitive approach” could negatively affect vulnerable pupils and lead to feelings of being “not good enough” and “worth less than others”. She did not receive a reply. Edkins said that, as far as she was aware, no arrangements were made to help Taylor in the stricter environment.
In the month before his death, Taylor broke down in tears at school on 2 October, telling a staff member he had self-harmed and was thinking about suicide. Principal Hutchinson said the school contacted his parents and "kept a closer eye on him". However, the coroner concluded there was no evidence Taylor's teachers were informed he had self-harmed or was having suicidal thoughts.
Taylor's mother, Michelle Lee, had raised concerns about the number of resets and reflections he was given on 6 November 2023. Youth worker Richard Brooks told the inquest Taylor described every day at school as "a battle and it's exhausting".
Longhorn said there was overwhelming evidence Taylor struggled with the change in rules and that his school experience “more than minimally contributed to his mental deterioration”. She said that, should the same situation arise, she was not confident the college would not handle it correctly.
A spokesperson for Westcountry Schools Trust called Taylor's death "tragic" and said the loss was felt across the school community. The trust said it would "closely study" the coroner's report, noting that the school's approach to safeguarding and behaviour had been inspected by Ofsted and the local authority and deemed to meet required standards. "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," the spokesperson said.