Exclusive:Barnsley teen who endured years of bullying died following “missed opportunities” for mental health support
Mum Courtney Lee, who wept as the coroner delivered her findings, described Ollie as “bringing light, humour, chaos and beauty” into her life
A coroner has found a Barnsley teen who endured years of bullying at a South Yorkshire school died following “poor communications” between agencies and “missed opportunities” for mental health support.
Willow Lee - who went by Ollie - took her own life at home on October 6, 2024, aged just 14, following several previous attempts and self-harm incidents.
Suspected neurodiverse and identity-confused Ollie had been assessed for autism and experienced problems with bullying from the beginning of Year 7 at Barnsley Academy.
On October 4, 2023 - a year before Ollie’s death - she was put on the waiting list for psychiatric intervention however due to ”poor communication” between agencies she was discharged from the service.
Crucially, a coroner heard a counsellor trying to contact the family had not contacted the council’s Early Help support service which was also working with the family - and therefore had no way of knowing mum Courtney Lee’s phone was out of action at the time.
A CAMHS risk assessment subsequently concluded Ollie was “low risk” and she was discharged on July 25, 2024.
Concluding the inquest that Ollie had taken her own life on Friday, May 8, corner Hannah Berry said she was “concerned” about the academy’s omission and the risk assessment process at the school.
She added: “While I hope the school has reflected, I am concerned that for Barnsley Academy and other schools in the Trust processes may not be understood in the future.
“I’m concerned that there may be a risk to other individuals in the future.”
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Mum Courtney Lee, who wept as the coroner delivered her findings, described Ollie as “bringing light, humour, chaos and beauty” into her life.
She said: “She was not just a mental health patient or a safeguarding concern or even a collection of agency notes.
“She was my daughter, a friend and a person with dreams, humour, intelligence, sensitivity and an enormous amount of emotional depth. She was incredible. She mattered then and she matters always.”
Coroner Ms Berry highlighted concerns about a “lack of communication” between council support agency Early Help and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Specifically, she said the two agencies were “not aware of what the others were doing.” She added: “This was a missed opportunity for the family and a missed opportunity for Ollie to engage in mental health support.”
The coroner noted that school had no idea Ollie wanted to be known by any name other than her birth name, Willow. However she was known as “Ollie” to Early Help.
She said: “I have no doubt that individuals did their best but the lack of communications compounded an already complex case.”
The inquest heard Ollie experienced problems from the beginning of Year 7 at Barnsley Academy. However the “severity” of the incidents increased during Year 8 - including physical and homophobic attacks.
There were reports of students running into her, pushing her and an incident where Ollie was attacked on her way home from school.
Video footage captured footage of children telling Ollie she should end her life.
Coroner Hannah Berry heard by November 2022 the teen reported feeling “low” and saying it might be “better if I was no longer part of this world”.
During various incidents she was pelted with “hard sweets”, “sprayed with deodorant”, and “dragged over grass”. She made two attempts on her own life prior to her eventual death.
However a coroner heard “at no point” did the school undertake a safety support plan - despite two separate self-harming incidents in class with sharp objects within a week of each other the year before her death in September 2023.
During her evidence Mary Potter, the safeguarding lead for Barnsley Academy, said over the course of the troubling incidents a pattern of self-harming emerged.
“On November 23 [Ollie] had stated to the school counsellor that on November 21 she had attempted to kill herself,” the safeguarding lead told the court.
Shortly after this incident, on December 4, ambulances were deployed to the school after Ollie had told a friend online that she was was attempting suicide, saying “I don’t want to live anymore.”
Ollie was off school for a number of months and after starting back at school on February 22, 2024, it was felt that there was improvement, however by April Ollie reported feeling “suicidal” and self-harm incidents followed.
At “no point” did the school family support worker contact CAMHS, noted Ms Berry. In October, a month after returning to school for year 10, Ollie tragically died.
Speaking at the conclusion of the inquest, Ms Berry said: “This has been particularly sad for Ollie having the struggles that she did.
“I’ve no doubt that everyone did their best. Ollie will be remembered for who she was, not just another mental health statistic.”
The coroner confirmed she would be writing to express her concerns to Barnsley College’s United Learning Trust and would be issuing a prevention of future deaths report in respect of CAMHS and Barnsley Council.
A spokesperson for United Learning Trust said the it would “reflect on the findings” to identify learnings for the future.
They added: “When something like this occurs it is essential that we consider whether there are additional steps we can take now that would help prevent something similar happening in the future”.
South West Yorkshire Partnership Teaching NHS Foundation Trust said: “We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ollie Lee, and all those who knew her.
“Providing safe services for all patients in our care is our top priority. We will carefully consider the comments from the coroner and will work closely with our partners to bring about any multi-agency improvements needed.”
Barnsley Council’s Executive Director of Children's Services, Carly Speechley, said, it took the inquest findings “extremely seriously”, adding: ”We will carefully consider the findings set out in the coroner’s report.
“The safety and wellbeing of children and young people remains our highest priority and we are committed to working with partners to ensure that any lessons identified help to prevent similar tragedies in the future."
When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at [email protected], or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
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