You said, we did

We reviewed how we communicate our offer to families. We want to clarify that approximately two thirds of our direct clinical work takes place in person.

All families are offered a choice of in-person or online appointments at assessment and throughout their time with us, with in-person options available at local family hubs and schools.

We discuss individual need and accessibility requirements with every family at the start of their journey and tailor our approach accordingly. This includes room selection, use of translators, and adjustments for sensory, physical, or learning needs.

We also introduced enhanced screening calls for all new referrals (from November 2024) to ensure families are better matched to the right service from the outset and receive early signposting where needed.

 All families referred to Harrow Horizons receive an information package covering what the service offers and how it works as part of our standard onboarding.

Since November 2025, all newly referred families receive a screening call prior to being added to the waiting list. This works like a 15 to 20 minutes consultation with one of our practitioners. This is part of our new enhanced contact protocols and covers need, risk, referral criteria, and service suitability — including discussions about neurodiversity where relevant.

Harrow Horizons will be sending out official communication about our service in April 2026 to partners in the community, referrers and families. We will be also including our referral criteria in this communication.

Anna Freud took over the service in April 2023 and since then Harrow Horizons accept all referrals with a neurodiversity, whether this is diagnosed or not. When a diagnosis has been obtained we accept referrals up to the age of 25 years. Our practitioners have received training from Anna Freud to adopt standard therapeutic interventions to neurodiverse needs. See National Autism Trainer Programme.

As we are a therapy service and not a specialist service for neurodiverse needs, we also recommend to families that they access CAAS alongside accessing our support and signpost them, as CAAS may offer them more targeted support around neurodiverse needs. 

Harrow Horizons does not offer neurodevelopmental diagnostic services, when referrals are received for neurodevelopmental assessments, families and practitioners are signposted to CAMHS. 

Please find below our referral criteria that we share with all families and professionals we work with. All families receive this when their referral is processed by our team. 

Harrow Horizons referral criteria:

Harrow Horizons is an early intervention well-being and mental health service for mild-moderate needs. This includes anxieties, low moods, and behavioural difficulties. 

Eligibility criteria: 

• CYP must have a Harrow home address and Harrow GP (Except for Looked After Children). 
• CYP must be aged 0-18 years (0-25 years with Special educational needs or disabilities). 
• Harrow Horizons offers short term therapy with either 1:1 intervention (12 years old +) or parental intervention (CYP under 12 years old).

We do not offer:

• Dual interventions. 
• Long-term interventions. 
• Work with children, young people, and families presenting with high-risk behaviour. 
• Offer out-of-hours or crisis support. 
• Work with young people experiencing psychosis. 
• Provide a neurodevelopmental diagnostic service. 

You said:

Through the Parent Carer Forum, people have told us that:

• they are uncertain about what happens when an EHCP ends
• who supports the handover into adult services 
• what ‘preparing for adulthood’ should look like

What we are doing:

• We are creating a Preparing for Adulthood section on the Local Offer explaining pathways step by step, with visuals and timelines
• Adult Social Care transition guidance is being linked on the SEND pages
• We are updating accessible information on the Local Offer to clarify support available after 25 and signpost to relevant services (e.g. community and health services)

We are now in the process of improving the information on Preparing for Adulthood.

You said:

Parents have told us that the HAF Programme is working well, but some working families feel excluded as the programme is only for those on free school meals.  You have asked why SEND is not considered as counted as a vulnerability as well as free school meals. Some families have also raised the lack of complex HAF places for pupils with complex needs. 

What we are doing:

It is genuinely concerning to hear that families feel excluded, particularly working families and those supporting children with SEND. No family should feel unsupported during the holidays, and we would welcome the opportunity to review the survey findings and engage directly with parents so we can better understand their experiences and respond appropriately.

By way of context, the current national eligibility criteria for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme are set by government and prioritise children and young people who are in receipt of benefits-related Free School Meals (FSM), typically Reception to Year 11. The intention is to target support towards families facing financial hardship during school holidays.

From September 2026, FSM eligibility will widen to more households receiving Universal Credit. However, HAF eligibility itself will remain linked to the FSM threshold rather than expanding to all Universal Credit families. The government has indicated that longer-term eligibility and funding arrangements will be reviewed in 2026–27.

Whilst these national criteria sit outside local control, Young Harrow Foundation working with Harrow Council has taken additional local action to broaden access beyond FSM. Each year we actively secure corporate and philanthropic sponsorship to create additional “vulnerability places” for children who may not meet FSM criteria but have clear need, including SEND, safeguarding concerns, or family pressures. Last year this raised almost £35,000 to increase local capacity.

We also partnered with Harrow Parent Carer Forum in 2025 to deliver targeted SEND provision. However, based on the feedback received, it appears the current routes are not fully reaching or meeting the needs of all families. That is something we take seriously and want to address quickly.

To respond proactively, we will:

• Develop a targeted survey for parents of children with SEND or additional needs who have not been able to access HAF.
• Allocate dedicated staff time to assess individual circumstances.
• Work directly with providers to facilitate suitable placements wherever possible.
• Continue to secure sponsorship and partnership funding to expand non-FSM vulnerability places.

We would very much welcome direct introductions to any parents who wish to speak with us. A more responsive, family-led approach will help ensure the offer better reflects what the community actually needs.