Two years, step by step.
Robur.Connect is a two-year programme, from Year 6 to the end of Year 8. This is how it is designed to run, from a first worry to a written handover.
Year 6
First, understand.
This part is designed to happen before the young person starts secondary school.
Step 1: Someone notices
A teacher, a parent or the school’s SENCO sees a child struggling. The school carries out a pre-assessment, and if the child shows signs, the school can contact Robur.Connect.
Step 2: Checking it is the right fit
The school and the parent take the steps to get the child onto an NHS waiting list. At the same time, the parent is told about Robur.Connect and asked if they would like to go ahead with making a connection with us.
Step 3: A starting point
A parent and a teacher complete the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). It is repeated at the end of Year 7 and the end of Year 8.
Step 4: Getting ready for the assessment
We arrange the appointment and walk the family and the SENCO through the questionnaires that come before it.
Step 5: The assessment
A full ADHD assessment is carried out by a specialist, who will design the first layer of the support plan to match the child’s specific ADHD profile.
Step 6: After the report
A conversation with the family about what the report says, what it does not say, and what happens next.
Step 7: The support plan
Built with the SENCO in time for the move to Year 7, using the cycle schools already use: assess, plan, do, review.
From the assessment on
Then, support.
Three kinds of support, side by side. Therapy is designed to start before Year 7 begins.
CBT starts
Twelve sessions with an outside therapist accredited by the BABCP, matched to the young person’s specific ADHD profile.
Mentoring visits
Visits every two weeks in term time (weekly where funding allows) from our mentor, a qualified Level 4 therapeutic counsellor with lived experience. Practical help with the school day, taking into account the child’s wellbeing too.
Nature trips
Two days out in the school holidays: one between Year 6 and Year 7, and one between Year 7 and Year 8.
Years 7 and 8
Stay, then hand over.
Our priority is to stay with the young person through the first two years of secondary school.
School check-ins
Every half term, we meet with the school and the parent to discuss progress, attendance, suspensions and exclusions.
The handover
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.
Where to go next.
Start with your child’s school.
Tell your child’s teacher what you are seeing at home. Our For parents page will help you find the words.
Do you have a pupil who could do with our support?
If your pre-assessment shows signs in a Year 6 pupil, see what the programme asks of your school, what it is designed to give the pupil, and how to reach us.
Help us fund a place.
What one place covers, part by part, and the ways you can help.
Check all sourcesEvery figure and claim on this page, with a link to where it comes from.SourcesClose
National sources that cover North London
- 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 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.
- 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.