Not impressed with APS (Haringey). Other school recommendations

I've replied but just to answer this- yes the council will always consult local schools as that's the cheapest option. You have the right to parental choice though and can appeal. It's straightforward esp if you are appealing for something as niche as a girls school etc.

Sorry just saw this. Catchment is tiny but you have an EHCP and they do have some girls from Haringey via EHCP and regular admissions as they border it. My DD went there and to one of the schools on the thread. Parli were brilliant. I don't want to say anymore on here but PM me if you want.

@MotherMary14 yes it a BBC programme. He was so inspiring for my daughter And so polite. Shook our hand and carried on his gymnastics.

In that case please consider Parliament Hill School. I think it's your best option out the bunch. They are amazing for girls with your DDs profile, their wellbeing team are so amazing and as a Camden school they are a lot better funded and resourced than Haringey schools. PM me if you want more info.

I feel for you. There is a real lacuna in terms of educational provision: schools which can meet the needs if the academically able children but who cannot cope with mainstream due to neuro or mental health issues. Family members of mine were in that boat and ultimately had to do online school (out of London). As I said, I am exploring Laurel Park in Enfield for my littlie as I think he might struggle with a big, busy mainstream school.

The gym had a young boy practicing gymnastics (he is also featured on a tv program and felt GCA had had supported him).

I'm pretty sure I know who that boy is! Is it a BBC drama he's on?

Out of the 3 I'd choose HHS or PV depending on the child's personality.

One of my son’s primary school friends goes to GCA and she has SEN- her mum v impressed so far. Similar with PV. Appreciate that is second hand.

@Haringeymom my Yr 5 daughter and I just finished a tour of GCA and looking at PV later this week. I found the tour impressive at GCA ( she liked the arts and gym.) she more creative/sporty than academic The school seemed huge but looked modern and well kept with good facilities. The children seemed polite and from and from a diverse background. The gym had a young boy practicing gymnastics (he is also featured on a tv program and felt GCA had had supported him). My daughter seemed impressed.

For Park View @Barbadosgirl agree with your thoughts on PV & SEN, we know a lot of creatives and professionals that have moved into the area and have sent their kids to PV and are happy with that decision. The kids we know at PV are well mannered and polite. A lot of Belmont junior families seemed to be supporting PV with news of a new English teacher from a good Crouch End school moving in. It seems very supportive of children that require additional support but that also are good independent self sufficient learners.

I am torn between Heartlands, GCA and PV for the SEN support. Any honest reviews welcome.

@Haringeymom I just saw you have a girl. Please look at Parliament Hill School. Pm me if you want but they are brilliant and worth the journey esp for a sensitive SEN girl.

If you are able to look at private, St Margaret’s has a good reputation for autistic girls. It’s not a SEN school, but it’s very small and nurturing, but follows a mainstream syllabus. I’m sad to hear Holmewood isn’t doing so well, as there are so few schools that cater for autistic kids.

If that happens than appeal. We had to appeal and won. It's not that difficult but people will scaremonger you.
I'm surprised you've heard that about the Grove. They are absolutely brilliant for kids with autism and they have a special pathway for GCSEs etc. Have you looked at out of borough schools with ASD units? How severe is your child's autism?

Happy to stand corrected but I am not sure you will find many Haringey schools vastly different to Greig/Park view in terms of behaviour but you could try Heartlands. They did have this strict policy of not allowing kids to congregate around Wood Green after school. So they are probably very on it in terms of behaviour. My friend’s little girl goes to Park View and she is the least street wise child you can imagine and absolutely tiny but has found it incredibly nurturing.

Little one is a boy and as things currently stand I cannot see APS being the best choice for him. They would potentially only be there together for two academic years anyway. I guess much could change in a couple of years anyway.

Gosh don't have kids in different schools if you don't have to! If your younger is a girl though I would highly recommend Parliament Hill School.

Ah thanks, that is useful to know. I was thinking about this today and wondering if I should give Heartlands a second look for my littlie as it felt like somewhere I wanted to like but didn’t and it may be I might just get a better vibe from the new HT.

@Barbadosgirl "I knew two people that worked at Heartlands and both said that it was not all it was cracked up to be and senior leadership talked the talk without walking the walk. Despite hearing from people on here that it is excellent for SEN, the headteacher was very keen to distance herself from that on the open day and I wonder if they are having the same issue APS did/has: such a great reputation for SEN they are struggling to meet need and so they were trying to distance themselves a bit."

I think Ms Roberts can be a bit marmite and some of the staff don't like her, but same goes for Mr McKenzie. Mr Levis is now the Head at HHS anyway. Leadership is not easy and it's easy to criticise but they do genuinely want kids to achieve and believe that all of them can. The hoops they have to jump through to get those kids results is insane and you couldn't pay me any money in the world to be a school leader at the moment.
And yes, that's definitely true re SEN and wanting to shift that reputation. Ms Roberts is incredible and she did a lot for SEN provision in the borough, it's largely thanks to her that The Grove exists. There came a point though where HHS and APS were taking on 20+ EHCP's per year group whilst other schools in the borough had 1-4. It was unsustainable and it's just not possible to give good provision to that many children especially when youre dealing with a huge % of SEN without EHCPs- some of whom should definitely have them and are entering Y7 not being able to read or write. The picture is much more balanced now in the borough, and rightly so. They are both mainstream schools, and it got to the point where people needed to be reminded of that.

@Zhu Holmewood used to be amazing but I've heard absolutely awful things about it since it was bought by Cavendish.

I remember not even being able to enter a lot of the rooms, The only room we got into was the Turkish language classroom. We had no interest in it but it was nearly empty. It felt like the whole borough was there and it must be so overwhelming for the staff. I would say that if we were doing this again, I would choose APS or HHS.

There are also a couple of autism-focussed schools if that’s helpful (though you need an EHCP, and obviously have to need a relatively high level of support). I mention in case useful. Holmewood is one. I need to google to remember the name of the other - it’s something like Orange Grove.

We have kids in APS and couldn’t be happier. The headteacher does put a show on the open evening (perhaps not a good one) but on the day to day most of the staff is very helpful and teachers really care. We had some issues with bullying that were handled very well by the school.
I agree with what someone said about being a bit old fashioned in terms of value - like being super strict with uniforms and phones, but my children love the school and are really thriving there.

In any case your options in the area are Heartlands or Fortsmere.