Support services ‘stepped away’ from tragic teen
THE support services surrounding tragic teenager Lee Ridgway had ‘stepped away’ from him in the months leading up to his death, an inquest heard.
Lee died on August 28 last year after he was hit by a train at Bramhall Station. The 16-year-old left a note for his parents and also messaged family and friends saying he was ‘sorry.’
On the fourth day of an inquest into Lee’s death, South Manchester Coroner’s Court heard that during 2015, he was displaying ‘problematic’ behaviour.
The court heard he was using alcohol, cannabis and legal highs, absconding from school and home and engaging in anti-social behaviour.
Lee was receiving support from pastoral care workers at Stockport School and from Mosaic, a service for young people with drug or alcohol issues. Stockport social services became involved in April 2015 due to a ‘specific safeguarding issue,’ not disclosed in court.
However, three months later in July 2015 at a TAC (Team Around the Child) meeting it was decided social services would step down from the case.
Manager Ann Marie Christie said that was because the safeguarding issue they were called in for seemed to have been resolved and they believed Lee would be better off working with staff at Stockport School and Mosaic, who he knew and trusted.
But by September 2015 both the pastoral workers at the school and Mosaic had also taken a step back, the court was told.
Lee’s mother Thelma Ridgway said: “We thought that children’s services had deployed their full range of services and we had run our course with them. We have since found out that there were other services that could have been available to Lee, such as more specific counselling.
“There were services we did not know existed.”
Ms Christie said that with hindsight she would have continued social services’ involvement with Lee until the September.
She said there ‘were other services that could have been offered’ to both Lee and his parents, but it was decided that the support from the school and Mosaic would be more beneficial.
The Youth Offending Service also became involved in March 2015, but took a step back when Lee ‘made it clear he did not want to engage,’ manager Jacqui Belfield-Smith said.
Mrs Ridgway said she was unhappy with the approach the service took and felt it was insensitive.
Both Lee’s parents and Hilary Thorley, pastoral manager at Stockport School, agreed that the last few months of his life seemed to show a marked improvement in his behaviour and outlook.
“We thought we had turned a corner,” Mrs Ridgway said. »●Proceeding