School with ASD/ADHD support - accessible from NW London (Hillingdon/Harrow)

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My daughter has been out of school for a year and a half due to mental health difficulties with underlying ASD and ADHD diagnoses. Prior to this she had always been in a mainstream school and had no behaviour problems or learning difficulties. This is all still new to us and we are trying to find the right educational environment for her - she is very keen to return to her local mainstream high school but they are giving signs that they may be unable to meet the needs laid out in her EHCP (just completed). We are interested in other schools that may be suitable for her but I'm struggling to identify anything.

A bit about her and what we are looking for - she is currently at the end of year 9 (but as said has missed a year and a half of school). Academically she has always been an average student, and has not previously had any additional learning support. She has the ASD and ADHD diagnoses (as of this year) but is high functioning as these were only identified in the context of her current mental health problems (depression and anxiety leading to a long inpatient stay in a mental health unit). We are looking for a school that will support her with a tailored curriculum and perhaps a visual arts focus (her strength), and good SEN support for ADHD and ASD. We expect that she will do a reduced number of GCSEs, perhaps 5 or so.

I don't know that we're looking for a specialist ASD school as her social functioning and communication are reasonably good (most of her problems are more in rigid thinking, emotional regulation, etc). We would consider a SEMH school but she tends to be influenced by peers and can 'pick up' symptoms and behaviours from them - so we are concerned about this route. However most mainstream schools seem so academically focused that we worry the pressure to catch up on the work she's missed will be too intense for her to manage. Is there such a thing as a small pastorally-focused school with a flexible curriculum - that is reachable from the Hillingdon/Harrow area? We would consider an independent school.

Thanks for any thoughts anyone can share - my understanding is that we are in a strong place to get the LA to consider anything that might be suitable as her current support needs are so high, so any ideas at all would be really helpful!

You could look at Holmewood.

There is also Egerton Rothesay, although they may not admit DD depending on her current level of MH needs. Wemms is probably too far, but depending on exactly where you are it may just about possible.

I have no experience of it, but a poster on another thread yesterday suggested Odyssey house to someone else looking.

In the meantime, is the LA providing EOTAS?

Thanks so much for this info - I'll look into those schools. And yes, our daughter is getting home tutoring through the LA while we look to find her a place - only very recently, though (since her EHCP came through, as her school said they did not have the resources to do anything beyond sending a packet of schoolwork home).

As well as tuition, is DD receiving the other provision detailed, specified and quantified in F? She should be.

In case you come across the situation again, it is the LA rather than the school with the responsibility for ensuring DC cannot attend school full time receive a suitable, full time education. If the provision isn’t provided, you can ultimately force the LA to provide it via judicial review.

We have enrolled our ADHD daughter in Clares Court in Maidenhead who are well known locally for being great with anxious children.
My daughter also has PoTS which makes her ADHD anxiety worse. Its common in teen girls. Can you please one morning when she is lying in bed after sleeping, get an idea of her heart rate and then get her to stand independently for three minutes and do her heart rate again. If her heart rate goes up by 30 or more beats per minute than please speak to the doctor about whether she might have PoTS. In short it means her body is releasing noradrenaline to increase heart rate and makes a child feel physically anxious regularly through out the day. I used a finger pulse monitor about £20 on Amazon.