Questions, answered plainly.
Parents and carers
For families
- Does it cost families anything?
- The programme is designed to cost families nothing, at any stage. It is built to be paid for by grants from funders who want children supported earlier.
- Would a child lose their NHS place?
- Nothing in the programme removes a child from an NHS waiting list. That choice stays with the family.
- Is a diagnosis needed first?
- The programme starts before any diagnosis. And you do not need one to speak to your child's school.
- Who is the programme for?
- Children in North London who are struggling at school, from Year 6. It runs from Year 6 to the end of Year 8.
- How long is the wait for an NHS ADHD assessment?
- Demand for ADHD assessments is very high, nationally and locally. The NHS neurodevelopmental service in Haringey says a child will receive an ADHD assessment within 12 to 18 months. For a child referred in Year 6, the assessment can come during Year 7, or even at the start of Year 8.
- How does a family start?
- Start with your child’s school. Tell your child’s teacher what you are seeing at home, and ask what they see in class. If the school’s pre-assessment shows signs, the school can contact us. The school and you take the steps to get your child onto an NHS waiting list, and you are asked whether you would like to go ahead with Robur.Connect too.
- Can a parent contact Robur.Connect directly?
- Not at the moment. For now the way in is through your child’s school, because the school is part of every step that follows. Our For parents page can help you find the words for that first conversation.
- What is Right to Choose?
- The NHS website says: “You may be able to find a clinic with shorter waiting lists through your GP using the Right to Choose scheme.” The NHS body that plans services for West and North London says self-referrals are not accepted, so you ask through your GP, and that some providers may already have reached their limit for 2026/27. We do not recommend any clinic.
- One of the profiles sounds like my child. What does that mean?
- It is worth noticing. Although a profile may sound like your child, that by itself is not a diagnosis: only an assessment with a specialist can tell you whether your child has ADHD. A profile can help you put what you see into words, so it is easier to talk to your child’s school or your GP.
- Is Robur.Connect an emergency service?
- No. Robur.Connect is not an emergency or crisis service. If someone’s life is at risk, call 999 or go to A&E. For urgent mental health help, call 111 and choose the mental health option. Children and young people can call Childline free on 0800 1111, at any time.
What it is
The programme
- What is in the programme?
- For one young person: a private ADHD assessment in Year 6, a support plan written with the school before Year 7, twelve CBT sessions, mentoring visits every two weeks in term time, two nature trips in the school holidays, a check-in every half term, and a written handover at the end of Year 8.
- How long does it last?
- Two years, from Year 6 to the end of Year 8. Our priority is to stay with the young person through the first two years of secondary school.
- Who carries out the assessment?
- A specialist, as the NICE guideline on ADHD says it should be. We arrange it in Year 6. The specialist designs the first layer of the support plan, to match the child’s specific ADHD profile.
- Does Robur.Connect diagnose ADHD?
- No. We do not diagnose, prescribe or deliver therapy ourselves. We just make the connection happen. The programme works alongside a child’s school and the NHS, never instead of them.
- What is the support plan?
- A plan built with the school’s SENCO in time for the move to Year 7, using the cycle schools already use: assess, plan, do, review. When a young person’s needs are understood before secondary school, their new school can plan for them.
- What is CBT?
- Cognitive behavioural therapy, a talking therapy. The NHS website says talking therapies such as CBT “might be recommended to help a child or young person with ADHD with problem solving and expressing their feelings”. The twelve sessions are with an outside therapist accredited by the BABCP, matched to the young person’s specific ADHD profile. The BABCP’s register is public.
- Who is the mentor?
- Our own mentor, a qualified Level 4 therapeutic counsellor with lived experience. The visits, every two weeks in term time (weekly where funding allows), give practical help with the school day and look after the young person’s wellbeing too. They are designed to give the young person one regular person, outside their family and the school’s SENCO team, to talk things through with, all through Years 7 and 8.
- When do the nature trips happen?
- Two days out in the school holidays: one between Year 6 and Year 7, and one between Year 7 and Year 8. Never in school time. They are designed to give the young person time with their mentor away from the classroom.
- What happens at the check-ins?
- Every half term, we meet with the school and the parent to discuss progress, attendance, suspensions and exclusions.
- What happens at the end of Year 8?
- Everything is handed over in writing to the secondary school’s SENCO, with an evaluation of which appropriate service to introduce the young person to next. Then the programme stops.
- Has anyone been through the programme yet?
- No. Robur.Connect is new. No young person has been through the programme yet, so there are no results to report. This website describes what the programme is designed to do.
SENCOs and head teachers
For schools
- When should a school get in touch?
- When your pre-assessment shows signs in a Year 6 pupil. Email us and tell us what you are seeing.
- Should we name the pupil when we first get in touch?
- No. You never have to give the child’s name when you first get in touch, and please do not name the pupil in your email. Nothing about a pupil is shared before the family has agreed and a data sharing agreement is signed.
- What does the programme ask of a school?
- To tell us about a Year 6 pupil you are worried about and talk to the family with us; to sign a data sharing agreement before anything starts; to complete the school’s part of the assessment questionnaires, which we walk you through; to complete the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at the start, the end of Year 7 and the end of Year 8; and to build the support plan with us under the graduated approach (Assess, Plan, Do, Review) in the SEND Code of Practice 2015.
- Does it cost the school anything?
- The programme is designed to run at no cost to the school or the family.
- Does it replace our SENCO, pastoral team or CAMHS?
- No. We do not replace the SENCO, the pastoral team or CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services). We do not issue education, health and care (EHC) plans. We are the coordination that sits around those services.
- Who makes safeguarding decisions?
- Your school’s designated safeguarding lead (DSL). We hold no statutory function.
Funders and commissioners
For funders
- What does a place cost?
- To support one young person from Year 6 to the end of Year 8, the full programme costs £5,756.80. You could fund a whole place, one part of it, or a group. For funders shows what each part costs and why.
- Why this assessment, when cheaper ones exist?
- Cheaper assessments are available. We chose this one because it is in person, with a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, and it includes the Conners 4 assessment, a full ADHD report with a personalised treatment plan, and a discussion of treatment. A video assessment costs £1,400, but a two-hour video call needs a quiet room, a device and a steady connection, which not every family has.
- What does the 12% coordination pay for?
- Arranging the assessment, matching the therapist, writing the support plan with the school’s SENCO, checking in every half term, and the written handover at the end of Year 8.
- How is the money looked after?
- Our intention is that money given for Robur.Connect is kept separate in our accounts and spent only on the purpose it was given for, that any payment over £500 needs written approval from two members of our proposed board, and that the board reviews the accounts every quarter. This is the intended direction, subject to professional sign off.
- How will you know whether it works?
- We intend to track each young person’s wellbeing with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), alongside their school attendance, suspensions and exclusions. We intend our board to review a progress report every quarter, and to publish a report every year.
- I am not a funder. How can I help?
- If you know someone who funds work for young people in North London, you can help by making the introduction.
- What kind of organisation is Robur.Connect?
- Robur.Connect is part of Robur.Virtus Limited, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, company no. 16903181. It is not a registered charity.
The evidence
Why start early
- Why start in Year 6?
- So the assessment and the support plan are in place before Year 7. Without the right support, a child can be seen as behaving poorly, or as a daydreamer who won’t concentrate.
- Why does Why start early talk about exclusion and the justice system?
- Because NHS England’s ADHD Taskforce says ADHD “when unsupported, is a potent route into educational failure, long-term unemployment, crime” and more, and that “when appropriately supported, individuals with ADHD can thrive.” Why start early sets out, step by step, what the published UK figures show when support comes late or not at all.
- What is alternative provision?
- Education away from a mainstream school, arranged for a pupil who, because of an exclusion, illness or another reason, would not otherwise get a suitable education. A pupil referral unit (PRU) is one kind.
- Why fund support this early?
- Every step along that path is paid for by the taxpayer. One place in a pupil referral unit or an alternative provision academy is £10,000 a year, plus a top up. The potential lifetime cost to the taxpayer of permanently excluding a 14 year old is at least £170,000. One full place on the programme costs £5,756.80, less than one year of an alternative provision place. Why start early shows each figure and its source.
If you need help now
Robur.Connect is not an emergency or crisis service.
If someone’s life is at risk, call 999 or go to A&E.
For urgent mental health help, call 111 and choose the mental health option.
Children and young people can call Childline free on 0800 1111, at any time.
Read more
Parents and carers start with their child’s school. Schools can contact us directly. Each page below goes further than the answers here.
Check all sourcesEvery figure and claim on this page, with a link to where it comes from.SourcesClose
North London
- Haringey CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Service (opens in a new tab)
London Waiting Room, North London NHS Foundation Trust. Published 7 January 2026, page last reviewed 13 October 2026. Read 1 November 2026.
The page says a child “will then receive an ADHD assessment from the NDS team within 12-18 months”, after a referral and a triage call.
- ADHD and autism (opens in a new tab)
NHS West and North London Integrated Care Board. No date on the page. Read 11 October 2026.
“There is currently very high demand for ADHD and autism assessments both nationally and locally”, extremely high demand for services, “very long waitlists”, and many patients put on a waiting list before an appointment can be offered. Right to Choose “applies to initial assessments only, and self-referrals are not accepted”. Some providers may have reached their limit for 2026/27.
National sources that cover North London
- ADHD in children and young people (opens in a new tab)
NHS website. Page last reviewed 19 March 2025, next review due 19 March 2028. Read 11 October 2026.
Right to Choose, the possibility of waiting “several months or years”, talking therapies such as CBT, and the signs and advice quoted on For parents.
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management (NG87) (opens in a new tab)
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Published 14 March 2018, last updated 13 September 2019 in the text read. Read 10 October 2026.
Who may diagnose ADHD (recommendation 1.3.1), and contacting the school, with consent (1.4.12).
- The CBT Register (opens in a new tab)
British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). Public register, checked on the day of reading. Read 10 October 2026.
BABCP accredits CBT therapists, and anyone can check a therapist on its register.
- The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (opens in a new tab)
Youth in Mind. No date on the page. Read 10 October 2026.
The parent and teacher versions are for ages 4 to 18. The self-report version is for about 11 to 18.
- SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years (chapter 6) (opens in a new tab)
Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care. 2015, the current code. Read 10 October 2026.
The graduated approach: Assess, Plan, Do, Review.
- Keeping children safe in education 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Department for Education. In force from 1 September 2026. Read 10 October 2026.
A school’s designated safeguarding lead, and a school’s checks on outside providers.
- ROBUR.VIRTUS LIMITED, company number 16903181 (opens in a new tab)
Companies House. Incorporated 10 December 2025. Read 10 October 2026.
A private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, with its registered office in Enfield.
- Report of the independent ADHD Taskforce: Part 2 (opens in a new tab)
NHS England. November 2025. Read 11 October 2026.
“Children with ADHD are at higher risk of academic failure, being bullied, school exclusion and school drop out” (quoted on Home and Why start early). The report opens: “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), when unsupported, is a potent route into educational failure, long-term unemployment, crime, substance misuse, suicide, mental and physical illness.” The next sentence ends “when appropriately supported, individuals with ADHD can thrive.” Both quoted in part on Why start early.
- Alternative provision: statutory guidance for local authorities (opens in a new tab)
Department for Education. Published 10 January 2013, last updated 5 February 2025. Read 13 October 2026.
The guidance has no formal definition of alternative provision. It says where it applies: Alternative provision is education “local authorities arrange ... for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education”, education schools arrange for pupils on a suspension, and pupils sent off site to improve their behaviour. Behind the plain words definition on Why start early. The plain-words definition on Why start early is in our own words.
- High needs funding 2026 to 2027: operational guide (sections 10.2, 10.4 and 10.7) (opens in a new tab)
Department for Education. Published 17 December 2025, last updated 14 October 2026. Read 1 November 2026.
Pupil referral units, alternative provision academies and alternative provision free schools are “funded at £10,000 per place, regardless of whether the place will be commissioned directly by a school” or by the council (10.4). Top up funding is “the funding required over and above the core or place funding, to enable a pupil to participate in education” (10.2). Where the council commissions the place “the top-up funding is allocated from the local authority’s high needs budget”; where a school commissions it, it “may come from centrally held high needs funding that has been devolved to that school” (10.7).
- Who is Losing Learning? The case for reducing exclusions across mainstream schools (opens in a new tab)
IPPR and The Difference. September 2024. Read 10 October 2026.
At least £170,000 per child permanently excluded at age 14, in 2023/24 prices, “directly associated” with the exclusion (analysis by Pro Bono Economics). Table 4.2, “Cost to the state of permanently excluding a 14-year-old”: reduced earnings potential for those who do find work £110,000; costs for those not in education, training or work aged 18 to 24 £15,000; custodial sentences in the youth justice system £30,000; additional costs of alternative provision placement £10,000; total £170,000 (“Totals may not sum due to rounding”). It leaves out the adult criminal justice system, health and social care, so it is “likely to represent an underestimate”. £1.6 billion is the cost for the 2022/23 cohort.
- Where to get urgent help for mental health (opens in a new tab)
NHS website. Page last reviewed 26 April 2023, next review due 26 April 2026. Read 10 October 2026.
Call 999 or go to A&E if someone’s life is at risk. Call 111 and choose the mental health option. Under 19s can call Childline.
- Contacting Childline (opens in a new tab)
Childline. No date on the page. Read 10 October 2026.
You can call Childline free on 0800 1111, and it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Information from the NHS website is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (opens in a new tab). The NHS has not endorsed Robur.Connect.