North London secondary for an autistic child

[BelleMarionette]

I'm searching for a school for my year 4 child, who has autism and ADHD, and has an EHCP pending. Currently she has 1 to 1 support at school. She is of average intelligence but needing a lot of support and slightly behind academically due to not always being able to engage with learning and difficulty with emotional regulation. She has been disruptive in the past, but never aggressive. She has a lot of sensory needs.

I am looking for either a specialist school, or a mainstream with a specialist autism or special needs provision, or a very sympathetic mainstream. Small class sizes would be ideal.

She would likely not be able to manage moving around a school building, at least definitely not when everyone is moving between classes as she cannot manage crowds. I realise that this could be a big issue at secondary.

Where in N London are you?

Haringey, but willing to travel, I have found that places that cater for a child with additional needs but without learning difficulties are hard to find.

APS or Heartlands if you're Haringey. Their SEN support is nearly identical. Lots of support. My DD is in one of those. She has an EHCP. Pm me if you want.

If you want a SS you could look at The Holmewood school. In the same group is The Moat/Burlington House, it isn’t an ASD school, but does take some autistic pupils. One or two of NAS’s schools may be suitable and within travelling distance.

DS3 attends a MS secondary, not local to you, but to avoid the crowds he moves 5 mins early with his 1:1.

Thank you, I have sent a PM

Thank you

Hi, The Grove School in Haringey is quite new but have heard is very nurturing. Children have a primary autisn diagnosis.

Hi there, I just came across this thread so not sure if anyone will see this as it’s old, but Alexandra Park School was not good for both my daughters when they were diagnosed with ASD and ended up dropping out as a result. My eldest is a PDA profile and Wentworth Tutorial College has been brilliant for her. My youngest now year 9 has an EHCP and goes to Gesher school in Pinner. They are excellent. It’s an hour’s drive from us (live by Ally Pally) but her attendance has been 100% and we are beyond thrilled to have found them.

Nevermindthesquirrels, we are considering APS or Archer Academy for out 10 year old boy with ASD, any insights you can give us? He is academically bright, but struggles with social interaction, friendships.

Just fyi I saw this by accident, you need to @ someone and tag them so they see your message.

I don't have much experience with archer. APS is hit and miss from what I hear now. Once you're in they're lovely but the difficulty with APS is they're so up themselves they don't really allow you to see if it's a good fit. All emails are answered with the generic, go through the process with the LA. No personal tours for EHCP kids or even just a separate more quiet open morning. I can't say it's because they're so popular for SEN, so is HHS and increasingly Gladesmore and Fortismere and they're far more welcoming. So yh it's hard with APS as you're really just going off reputation. I also haven't had much to do with it since the senco changed. When Ms Perry was the senco it was brilliant though.
I know that if your child struggles with a lot of rules it'll be miserable though and my DD is friends with 2 girls, one ADHD, one ASD that we're permanently excluded from there.
A lot of SEN kids love it though as the rules are very rigid and give them predictability and safety. The expectations are also high academically so their confidence does increase. But it's is a very pushy intake, difficult to get spaces on trips and recognition for something mediocre. Easy to get lost basically.

@NataliaNN sent you a PM earlier.

APS definitely wouldn't be a good fit for my DS as he cracks when academic pressure is too high, has quite a slow processing speed when taking in info, easily distracted and with low motivation, even though he's bright and capable. Have heard Archer sets a lot of homework which worries me.

I've also found it very hard to get any response from APS. Like @Nevermindthesquirrels said, I hear it's lovely once you're in but they don't give you any good opportunities to really explore whether the school will be a good fit, so it's definitely a judgement call based mainly on reputation, website statistics and conversations with other parents (which can be very mixed). I know a child with an EHCP who has been admitted for September and the school still hasn't communicated with her parents either.

Has anyone had any experience with Archer Academy? Unlike APS they have been very responsive and arranged a visit for us, but would be keen to know how it is once they are inside. They seem nicer, but less established than APS. Any insight much welcome, we need to name the school on our EHCP this September- but does not seem there is much choice out there!

I don't have personal experience, but a friend's autistic daughter loved and flourished at Acland Burghley. It sounded like she had absolutely wonderful support. Not sure what the journey would be like for you, but it may be worth considering.