Advice on colleges/options after mental health absence in Y12

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My Y12 DS has been out of school since Oct with depression and social anxiety and also has ASD. Anxiety was triggered by last minute unavoidable switch to a different school for 6th form where most pupils knew each other. Attendance was sporadic from the outset so he doesn’t have any friends there at all, so trying to go back now feels pretty impossible.
We’re looking at a fresh start in Y12 but need to find the right place. We’re in SW London, and can’t find many 6th form colleges still taking applications.
We’re also short of ideas of what he could do until Sept. He’s now on medication and having regular therapy and ready to start re-engaging with the world, albeit slowly. I’m worried that with no structure and nothing to focus on until Sept, his mental health may deteriorate again and it will be a huge shock in Sept.
Any advice or ideas of colleges or ways to navigate this period?
Thank you!

My daughter has dropped out for similar reasons. She does two four hour shifts washing up in a restaurant and is volunteering at the local hospital.

If you could consider private Thames Christian School in Clapham Junction could be a good option. Their 6th form is small and they are very caring and can be flexible with kids who struggle

If he is up to it then some volunteering / work experience.
Learning to drive if 17 and up to it (probably not).
If wanting to do A levels then reading around the subject and/or keeping maths skills alive if doing STEM.

(DD had 2 years out, y11(!) and then after 2 years of college going back for a further year afterwards.)

Thank you for the thoughts. It’s reassuring to hear others have had a year out too.

I just wanted to share my experience as it does sound similar. My DS also has been suffering with mental health issues - depression and anxiety, particularly social anxiety since starting college in September but gradually got worse to the point now after trying a break and various ways to catch up on work we have pulled him from the college environment completely. Like you I have been concerned about him getting worse being at home and not having that focus anymore, and it has. He started self harming a couple of weeks ago which I only found out about recently.

We have tried him on some medication for 7 weeks which had no effect on his mood, but suppressed his appetite and he was sleeping too much and barely eating anything, loosing weight etc so I took him off them. He is on a waiting list for assessment for ASD and ADHD, dr refused today for him to try an alternative medication due to his age (16, will be 17 in May) and concerns about the risk of the same side effects again. Which resulted in him walking out of the drs upset an going straight to bed to sleep.

He had his first counselling session this morning which I am paying for privately due to the huge waiting list with CAMHS, hes cut off from all hobbies and friends and it's just a hugely worrying time, have been considering him having a year out but not sure how best to support him as he often has suicidal thoughts feel like we have no support around us, and counselling is a process which takes time. Understandably he wants a quick fix, and given he has felt this way since September it's understandable. Hope things get better soon for us it's awful seeing him this way.

Sorry to hear you’re having a tough time too. I know we have been lucky with the medication that there were minimal side effects but it really seems to have made a difference alongside therapy and a lot of patience and taking things at his pace. We also went privately for support in the end.
I hope things start to improve for you soon

if he can catch a train and you have maidenhead on a nearby train line I recommend a small local private school in maidenhead called Claire's Court. They are very compassionate school and were recommended to us by a parent whose son with mental health challenges used to go there. The 6th form programme is 1hr for classes plus 20min break after each lesson and no classes on wed and fri afternoons which can be used for sport or a mental health rest if need be.
It's not a 'pretty' private school doesn't have the same facilities but the teachers have a well known local reputation for being wonderful with kids with sen/anxiety etc. Its not a sen specific school and kids end up whole range of places from russell group unis to apprentiships etc. They just value the existing kids mental health over the school achieving high grades to try and sell places to new students.