Orange Tree School / Holmewood School

All of this is really helpful so Thankyou everyone I am currently at the stage of worrying about where my child will go for secondary school and also considering specialist schools but finding the right fit I know is challenge. My son behaviour is not challenging if he is supported and feels supported and reacts to how he is treated school are currently being much nicer to him and he is doing better there is another of misunderstanding and assumptions in mainstream and not listening to the parent who knows their child best as we have been on the journey with them faced the ups and down had the successes and the failures as well as finding new ways to parent and adapt.

As previous children have not had autism I am new to this world but not new to working in education and the send world my worst experiences so far is the disregard for autism and treating behaviours always as something to manage as a punishment instead of focusing on support.

the second has been the behaviours of Senco who should also be advocates but at times behaviour as though the role was just a step for their career and don’t really care and have intentions of listening to parents

and so here we are possible May need a specialist school and these were the two I may have considered.

Mapesbury is also a lovely school based in crinklewood I wouldn’t say it offers gcse but they have the most caring and understanding staff who work very hard they are new and only been open almost a year. They offer all subjects and have all in house ot , therapist , speech and language I would say it’s more focused on the nurturing side and offer all subjects they they throughout the day including food technology which they love.

all the best to all the mums been this or going through this.

being new to this I have realised that I may need to apply for a EHCP because it’s eels as though if you don’t have one you can’t get into the most suitable school and schools don’t always follow all advice from professionals to the T for what ever reason as schools also know support plans are not legally binding but EHCP are.

So here we are I am now apart of the club and have learnt a lot and am still learning

I wanted to write on here for anyone wanting information about Holmewood. My son has started there and has had a great experience. It's small and caring and for once in his time at school he's felt part of things, which has been great for his confidence. I used to collect him from his mainstream primary and see him trailing out behind all the NT kids in his mainstream school, often alone and being completely ignored. I only realised what kind of effect this must have been having on him until he started holmewood. Suddenly, I hear about what's happening at school and his interactions with other kids. He has friends and is engaged with learning and talks about looking forward to things that are happening that day. If you are in two minds about sending your kid to a special school, and getting them to brave it in mainstream, I say don't bury your head in the sand. The LA saying your kid can "cope" in mainstream, just isn't good enough- you want them to be happy and thriving and in the right environment it IS possible! The drawbacks to Holmewood are the tatty building (surely with those fees they can afford a lick of paint?), the lack of girls and some of the other kids have greater needs than how it was first presented to us- but otherwise I think they actually really care about these kids and set them up for a far better future than they could get "coping" in a big noisy mainstream. My son is ASD with sensory processing issues, he's not disruptive and would probably just have slipped through the cracks in another setting.

I hear you and hope this is the case but the fact the overall head of the schools under Ellern Mede is Karen Shirbini who is the wife of the rogue former head is rather concerning !! She also walked out with no notice nor communication to the parents or kids when she was operating at the supposable Senco and was uncontactable for months . They also denied being a sen school when things didn’t go well & denied any connection with the hospital school & the present staff were deeply implicated in that perception. However , glad it’s going well but be aware !!!

Just picking up on this thread in case anyone is considering OTS. All of the negative comments and the school being ‘horrendous’ in our experience are out of date and no longer true. I can’t speak to what it was like under the previous head, and acknowledge that families may have had bad experiences in the past, but as new parents at the school, who also looked at 10 other schools, we are really happy with OTS and their genuinely caring, supportive and ambitious ethos. Our ASD/ADHD child is growing in confidence every day, and achieving things that were impossible in mainstream. The school is modern, well resourced and well run. And, as a school born out of a hospital school for kids with eating disorders, it has a board of governors that are mainly doctors, which is reflected in how the school operates. I would advise anyone thinking about OTS to visit the school in person, along with all the others you’re considering, and make your own judgement.

I suspect that’s due to them having only had negative experiences with Orange Tree but sad as with Zoe running the show, it may be different.
sorry re your experience with Holmewood. Our son was at OT under former head and is now at Holmewood thriving . It is an incredible school !!’

That’s crazy! It’s in Barnet. Much harder to get funding outside of borough. Did they give any reason? They are legally obliged to find the right setting for your child if they can’t provide. We had to fight for funding and didn’t take no for an answer. We also spoke to an advocate lawyer who helped advise and were prepared to go to tribunal but didn’t have to in the end

Thanks, apparently Barnet refuse to consult with Orange Tree!

Yes we have received funding through his EHCP but live in Haringey

@MBedd thanks for the post - I assume your son's place is funded through the EHCP? Would you mind saying whether or not you live in Barnet?

We have an 11 year old ASD/ADHD bright boy. We have been thinking about school for the past few years as our son is moving from his lovely junior (mainstream) school in North London this year and needs a specialist setting. We had researched and look round all the special needs schools. Our experience of Holmewood was really bad. The woman responsible for the assessment (who is new) seem to have no understanding of Autism and although some of the teachers were lovely she make the experience really unnecessarily stressful for our son. This is a new approach that they didn't used to do chatting to other parents. They want easy ASD kids with no anxiety, but are not interested in relaxing the child to get the best from them. It felt like he was being stress tested. Really unnecessary when all his reports say he manages really well at school with the right support. It felt like this approach did not boad well for a school that seems to be trading on its old reputation.

Orange Tree school couldn't have been more different. The new headmistress was so lovely and she has an autistic child herself so really gets it. They took the time to get to know our son. Found what he was interested in and made a really effort to engage him and get the best from him, which they did. I have read on here some negative thoughts about the ex headmaster but he is no longer at the school and it really feels like a new start with good people and a lovely nurturing safe space for our son. The teachers were really understanding, they have a great chef on site who cooks beautiful food for the kids as some struggle around diet etc. the environment is calm and there is a clear focus on getting the children there to reach their potential, full range of GCSE's etc. It is a relatively new school (3 years old) with a new head teacher so may feel like a bit of a gamble as needs time to build up its reputation, but from the 9 school we looked round seemed to have all the right ingredients to really meet the needs of our son in a positive way. It is part of the Ellern Mede group who have 5 different schools in the UK all with great reputations. Our son is looking forward to starting in September and it is a great relief to have found the right space for him.

I know how stressful it is finding the right place for our vulnerable children and have been through the mill on our search. My advice is go and get a feel for the school you are considering and speak to the teachers about their approach. You will get a clear sense of what will and won't work for your child.

He was on site and introduced the tour, but then left. Who knows?!

The tour today was run by the new head Zoe Ramshaw. The previous one isn't even on their website anymore.

I am relatively local to the area of both Holmewood and Orange Tree although in Herts and really pleased to have found this thread. My Y9 son attends a specialist resource provision but his sensory needs are currently off the scale, mainly at school but also at home. He is ASC and academically mainstream (although not in lessons often due to his SPD, as most of the class sizes are at least 10-15 children). Before I progress this further with the LA, would anyone be able to offer an opinion of whether either of these schools could meet need for sensory processing disorder?

Good grief …that’s quite concerning given they were trying to get to 10 kids in year 8 about 18 mths ago but I know many prospective parents were put off by the head .

They have 27 overall but I don't know the split across the year groups. I will go back with DD and ask for more detail then. She would be Y7 2025 entry

I definitely would look into it if he is retiring . I am not sure what class sizes are which was a concern before as they were very low on numbers but that should be easy info to find out …

@TravelBunnie do you think it's a school worth considering given this change?

Omg !!! I imagine he has been pushed or jumped before …wonderful news though …

Just went to the OT today, the head is retiring.

Orange tree is horrendous. Sadly, the head teacher is a dreadful character & only wants kids with weak ehcps . Has no understanding of autism or mental health & only recently the school was investigated due to so many complaints. However, the head once worked for Ofsted so knew all the tricks to get round it. Most parents are very disappointed with the school. Staff wonderful but the head controls all & is like a second hand car salesman. Vile man from ex parent

You could also look at Silverways (Enfield), The grove (Enfield), Windmill (Barnet).