A manslaughter trial has heard that a funny and chatty disabled Newtown teenager, who had a talent for wheelchair sports and hopes for the Paralympics, was "fiercely independent and occasionally stubborn".
Staff who helped 16-year-old Kaylea Titford during her time at Newtown High School told jurors that the "lovely, polite and well-mannered" girl had a good sense of humour but was "very independent" and would rarely accept help with her mobility issues.
Mold Crown Court heard that the school kept in contact with Kaylea's mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones between March 2020 and early October 2020, but it had escalated days before the teenager died when she didn't attend school as planned.
Kaylea's father Alun Titford, who denies the gross negligence manslaughter of his daughter who was found dead at her home on October 10, watched as witnesses gave evidence on the ninth day of the trial.
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Learning support assistant Belinda Jones shared that as the teenager grew older, so did her weight, which "really upset her" and her enthusiasm for sport waned.
"As she got older her attitude to sport changed and she wasn’t as enthusiastic as before. She was getting bigger for her wheelchair and she used her hands to push the wheels on the wheelchair to get around," Ms Jones said, adding that it worried her because she "just didn’t look comfortable in it".
Madeline Ottoway, another learning support assistant, agreed adding that the teenager didn’t like asking for help.
"Kaylea was very independent," she said.
"We [the school] definitely offered to help but most of the time she would refuse it. She would want to do it herself."
The court heard that during the time Kaylea celebrated her 16th birthday, days before she died, her mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones posted on Facebook that her daughter was not feeling well.
Senior staff at Newtown High School told the court that for various reasons were given by Kaylea's mother about why the Year 11 pupil had not returned to school in September 2020 as planned.
Head of Year 11 Sian Swanson was told by Ms Lloyd-Jones over a few weeks that Kaylea had been suffering from a mouth ulcer and a "bad belly", fallen out of her chair, and was anxious about going back to school.
Ms Swanson suggested on at least two occasions that Kaylea, who had not been in school since mid March 2020, should attend the wellbeing unit to help with the transition into school.
Assistant headteacher Benjamin Jones told the court that the non-attendance issue had escalated after Kaylea did not attend school as planned on October 8. He explained to Kaylea's mother that her daughter must attend school because Year 11 was an important year in her education.
The trial continues.
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