We are excited to announce that The Assessment Team have teamed up with ADD-vance to provide free ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) assessment for children in Hertfordshire who are in primary school years 5 & 6 and are eligible for free school meals.
The Assessment team clinicians passionately believe that families need timely assessments and have committed to donating 10% of their time to this project pro bono (a minimum of 12 free assessments in 2022). This will also help reduce NHS waiting times in Hertfordshire therefore improving access to all families in the county.
We are accepting applications via this form for children that meet the following criteria:
- Currently in Year 5 or Year 6 at a Hertfordshire state primary school.
- Eligible for Free School Meals – this will be verified by class teacher. Please do not apply if your child is not eligible for free school meals.
- Is currently on the NHS waiting list for assessment of either ADHD or ASD. As we would like to help as many families as we can, we are currently unable to offer both assessments for the same child.
- Has a named teacher or SENCO who is in support of the application – we require the direct school email address of a named teacher or SENCO who is aware of the application. If your child is selected, they will be required to provide information for the assessment and verify the child is eligible for free school meals.
- We are unable to accept applications where risk is present, for instance where a child exhibits behaviour that injures themselves or others (such as self-harm, suicidal ideation and severe aggression) as these families are better served by the NHS who can provide comprehensive mental health care.
- We are unable to accept applications where there are current safeguarding or child protection concerns as these families are better served by the NHS who can provide comprehensive mental health and link with social care. This will be verified by class teacher.
- Unfortunately, we do not have an interpreter service and therefore can only offer this for families with access to English interpreter if required.
Successful applicants will be selected electronically at random and contacted directly via email by the Assessment team to arrange an assessment. We do require prompt submission of teacher information thereafter to proceed with assessments, so it is crucial that the supporting teacher is aware of this. Unfortunately if teacher information is not submitted within our timeframe of 3 weeks, or indicates that eligibility criteria is not met, then assessment will be offered to another family.
