Academy 21 - anyone have any experience with?

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Hi anyone's teen used this service or have any advice please? My 15 yr old ASD DD with severe anxiety and complex medical/physical needs is currently unable to attend school as she is struggling so much with being overwhelmed, sensory overloaded and sky-high anxiety.
In the past due to her med/physical needs we have had 1:1 tutoring at home for maths & eng and school are working with us and the med education service but have asked our thoughts on Academy 21. Any advice gratefully received. Thank you

IMO it won’t be suitable for DD if she has complex medical and physical needs as well as severe anxiety.

As an aside, if DD can cope with it, medical needs tuition should be more than just E&M.

@SearchingForSolitude thank you for replying. Pls can I ask the reason you say likely unsuitable?

Don't know if it makes a difference context wise but because of her various conditions, she is already doing a reduced number of GCSE subjects and has a bespoke timetable of eng, maths, RS and ASDAN.

IME it isn’t personalised enough for those with complex needs/severe anxiety. Not enough SEN support. It sounds like DD needs 1:1 provision that can adjust to her needs depending on the day, time, content, anxiety levels/health… Academy 21 can’t offer that level of support and personalisation. Some also struggle with it being virtual and find communication difficult. This often leads to DC struggling to engage. It also wouldn’t be able to offer RS or ASDAN.

Does DD have an EHCP?

Hi, thank you so much, that's very helpful.

Yes she does have an EHCP.

I have spoken to her former 1:1 home tutor & have a meeting booked tomorrow afternoon with MES & tutor to look at options.

Ideally, i'd like her to receive some tailored support at home to do asdan like activities. Whilst I'm happy to do bits with her, equally I need to work around her & I don't want her to rely on me for everything. It's been a battle to get her to advocate for herself & I'm concerned that she will become overly reliant on me to intervene/support/entertain etc. It's not that I don't want to help her, I just don't think it's in her best interests longer term.

I'm keen for her day to have structure & a routine of sorts & one that isn't solely reliant on myself to deliver.

Sounds like the EHCP needs improving (not just with the academic provision but also the therapeutic provision). Is DD 15 in Y11 or Y10? Has an early review been requested?

Ideally, i'd like her to receive some tailored support at home to do asdan like activities.

This can be provided via education otherwise than at school. You are right, for many reasons, the LA should not, and cannot, rely on you to organise, deliver or facilitate the provision.

She's in Year 10...

Her EHCP is a bit of a cobbled together shenanigans - she was shielding for so much of Year 7, that she barely attended for more than a few weeks & even then, her health was poor so she couldn't manage full days.

By the time she went back in Year 8, she was out of her depth, exhausted & only managing half days so provision was put in place via mornings at school & tutoring in pm.

By year 9, school very much wanted her to do more hours which we supported but equally she wasn't able to

the EHCP has been hacked up here & there & I think school somehow miraculously thought that come Year 10 & GCSE classes, she would magically be fixed/fit enough which is patently not the case!!

IPSEA has a model letter you can use to request an early review. It sounds like DD needs EOTAS rather than a school placement.