South Yorkshire trans schoolboy Alex Dews was ‘crying out for help’ before death, family tell inquest

Alex Dews was aged 13 when he was found unresponsive in a river by a member of the public in Barnsley. The teenager was taken to Barnsley Hospital before being transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital where he sadly died four days later on June 18, 2022.

In a statement read out by assistant coroner Abigail Combes, Alex was described by his mum Anna, dad Mathew, and grandparents Susan and Robert as a “kind, funny, patient and beautiful soul”, who loved garlic bread, orangeade and chocolate pudding.

But at the first day of the teen’s inquest today (June 8), the Barnsley family described the nightmarish months leading up to his death where Alex was increasingly withdrawn from school and began to struggle with his gender identity, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. In statements read out by Mrs Combes, the family spoke out about their exasperation as they were left with nowhere to turn to get young Alex help.

In the summer 2021 prior to starting Year 8, the Outwood Academy Shafton pupil told his family he would like to use male pronouns and be referred to as Alex. With his family’s support, he cut his long hair short. But as he started the new school year, his mum Anna saw him get ‘more anxious’ and he did not want to go to school anymore. It was around this time that Anna noticed Alex had begun to self harm.

The school gave Alex a pass so he could leave lessons early to avoid the crowds to help his anxiety and access to an alternative classroom to avoid drama or PE classes, but Anna would begin to receive calls to say Alex was hiding in the toilets.

On November 4, 2021, Alex had contacted his mum and nan to say he had self harmed at school and was struggling to control the bleeding. Susan rang the school to get him medical help, but she claimed ‘no one answered the phone’, and she was forced to leave a voicemail. However, this incident could not be confirmed by school principal Alison Bumford, known as Ms McQueen, also the safeguarding lead, as it was not logged on the school’s system.

Susan later asked the school if Alex could be referred to the external service iSpace, which provides support for wellbeing and mental health. But it was claimed by Alex’s family that it took a further four months for the school to make an ‘urgent’ referral after Alex began to speak out about feeling suicidal.

On both March 15 and March 23, 2022, Anna was asked by the school if she could pick Alex up after he had said he felt suicidal. Anna claimed that a teacher had told Alex that A&E would not be ‘that much help’, and so he refused to go.

Anna said: “I didn’t want to force him to go and make him worse. We went home and ate and talked about it. Alex told me that he didn’t want to be here and that he wanted his anxiety to be over with. I told him that it will take time and that I would help him as much as I can.”

On March 30, Alex refused to go to school as he was ‘too anxious’. When he went the following day he was sent home after vomiting. A week later Anna found a box of paracetamol in his bedroom and asked if Alex had overdosed, which he admitted.

At the time of the overdose, Alex was a few weeks into six weekly counselling sessions with iSpace. The school said it would refer Alex to CAMHS, but that it had to wait until his sessions with iSpace had finished.

In May, Alex was discharged from iSpace, and the family were left with ‘no support at all’.

The following month, a meeting was held where Anna and Susan said the school ‘seemed happy’ with Alex’s progress. It was suggested that they schedule a meeting for September to make sure Alex settled into Year 9, but Alex would sadly pass away just days later.

The family said Alex was a “scared child, struggling to come to terms with his own gender and how he could fit into society.”

They added: “He was crying out for help and was disregarded. He was let down and now we are trying to pick up the pieces of our shattered lives. No amount of words will ever explain the emptiness and amount of pain we feel.”

Any reports showing Alex’s referral to CAMHS or iSpace were not given in evidence by the Outwood Academy Shafton. Ms McQueen said that ‘all major decisions’ in relation to students being referred to external services, such as CAMHS, iSpace and social services, are logged, in line with the school’s safeguarding policy, but she said it’s 'not an account of every single discussion’.

She also said Alex had been placed on a vulnerable register where students under a certain criteria are discussed by the school’s teams on a weekly basis to ensure they get the best support.

The inquest continues.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123, email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.