A schoolgirl tragically killed herself after suffering crippling anxiety over returning to school following the Covid-19 lockdown and 'falling behind in schoolwork', an inquest heard today.
Kayley Taylor, 14, was so overcome by anxiety when students began going back to class for the first time that she could not get out of bed or get dressed.
The teen is said to have told her mother she “didn't understand” after having suffered connection issues with learning systems and struggling to keep up with homework.
Kayley's mother accused her all-girls secondary school, where another teen had also just killed herself, of "pressuring" her daughter into returning.
She also alleged Kayley's GP “let her down” by failing to speak to the 14-year-old or see her.
On June 17 last year, Kayley messaged a friend saying “I love you but I can't do it anymore...I want to kill myself”.
She then hanged herself in a park yards from her home in Horsham, West Sussex.
It emerged Kayley tried to kill herself at the same woodland spot a week earlier.
Kayley, of Millais Secondary School, was the second student at the school of 1,500 girls to die amid mental health battles in the space of six weeks.
Robyn Skilton, 14, also took her life on May 7 of last year.
Today, at Kayley's inquest in Chichester, West Sussex, her mother said her daughter was a "conscientious student" who loved spending time with her family, in particular visiting her grandmother, playing crazy golf, croquet and table tennis.
Melissa Kayley said: "She was calm, quiet, loving, generous, kind and school reports said similar. After the lockdown she was anxious.
"From the very first day when they went back [she suffered anxiety].
"On the first day, she was just in her bed crying and she squeezed me so hard, there was no way she was going back to school.
"She was worried because she had missed school.
"After that it was similar. Some days she would not get up, some days she would get up and get dressed and that's as far as she got.
"I tried to encourage her by talking to her and she said 'mum, you don't understand, I can't do it'.
"I asked if it was going to school or going to see friends again, and she could not explain it."
Mrs Taylor said: "I believe the school were more concerned about getting her back rather than helping her, they would not let her work from home.
"I was pressured to get her to school by being threatened to get the authorities involved. They said they weren't going to authorise any more absences.
"The school let Kayley down.
"She said she was lonely in class if not sat with her friend - it broke my heart. She was happy at break when she was with her friends.
"She kept struggling to get into Teams...She kept getting a lot of emails from teachers saying 'you are not here' or 'log on' and she told them she was having issues.
"I told her there was nothing more we could do, I told her 'don't worry, don't panic'."
Allan Taylor, Kayley's father, said his daughter told him there were 'too many people about'.
Mrs Taylor arranged a phone appointment with Horsham GP Dr Tariq Jahangir but told the inquest he didn't want to speak to Kayley or see her in person.
"I strongly believe we were let down by the GP", she said. An emotional Mr Taylor asked Dr Jahangir 'why didn't you see her?'
Dr Jahangir said he wrote to Kayley's school, said Kayley did not present too much concern at the time, and that prescribing a young girl medication would have been outside usual practice.
Mrs Taylor felt she was left with "nowhere to go" as she could not get a referral for Youth Emotional Service [YES], which provides mental health support to teens, because Kayley would not complete a questionnaire and she was told she could not do it without her daughter's consent.
In questioning Mike Sutton, deputy head and safeguarding lead at the school, Mrs Taylor said: "My concern was that the one time Kayley suggested to work from home she was just refused point-blank."
Mr Sutton said: "I'm saddened to hear that the suggestion was not taken up, I would have liked to think that our flexible approach would have meant we could adhere to it."
Mr Sutton said the school was '"duty bound to try to encourage children to attend school" and did not involve authorities.
Kayley's tutor, Caroline Jones, told how she offered Kayley and her mother a Samaritan's consultation after Robyn's death but she didn't want any help.
Emotional Ms Jones, who Mrs Taylor said helped Kayley, cried as she described the youngster as a "quiet little thing" who never showed any suicidal ideations.
Mrs Taylor and Kayley's friends said on the morning of her death, the teen "seemed in a good mood" and went to school.
However, after school, she messaged one friend: "I love you but I can't do it anymore, two of my friends have killed themselves, I want to kill myself."
Phone records show Kayley had spoken about "gender identity" with a friend and "thanked them for being supportive" before saying 'I'm sorry for this".
"I've been struggling for a while and I'm going to end it", Kayley said in one message.
Suicide notes were also found after paramedics arrived at the scene around 5.30pm.
Coroner Penelope Schofield ruled Kayley killed herself but recorded a narrative conclusion.
She said: "Although she was 14 she was really suffering with her anxiety. I'm satisfied she knew what she was doing.
"She took her own life while suffering from acute anxiety brought about by the effects of the national lockdown and her concerns of falling behind in schoolwork."
Ms Schofield added: "Unfortunately the GP didn't speak with Kayley himself."
Ms Schofield made a recommendation that the YES rules are clearer surrounding referrals for teens in need of help.
The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.
