Transitions

Where to start

For almost everything, the NHS is the right first move, and it costs nothing.

• Your child’s school. The pastoral lead, the head of year, or the form tutor. Free, already knows your child, and often the fastest route to a change that helps. Before or alongside anything else. A school cannot act on what it has not been told, and what you bring is often what it did not have.
• Your GP. The gateway to everything the NHS offers a child: paediatric assessment, a referral to CAMHS, and support for you as the parent. Ask for a double appointment. Describe the pattern over weeks rather than the worst single day, and say plainly what you are worried about. Bring a written list; the ten minutes go quickly. www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp
• Private therapy, if you can meet the cost. A registered counsellor or psychotherapist, found through the BACP or NCPS directories. Waiting lists are shorter than the NHS and you choose who your child sits with. When waiting is the problem, or when you want a particular kind of help. What to look for, and what to expect, is set out at theparentbook.com/finding-a-therapist theparentbook.com/finding-a-therapist

For transitions

• Place2Be. School-based counselling charity. Their Parenting Smart articles are written by school-based counsellors and are my default for primary-age concerns. When the chapter is about primary-age (5-to-11) social or emotional concerns, particularly anything school-anchored. The Parenting Smart articles on friendship, behaviour and routines are the strongest sub-resource. parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk
• YoungMinds. The leading UK youth mental health charity. Their A-Z is the first place I send parents asking about a named concern. When a parent needs a clear, accessible primer on a specific emotional or mental health concern in their child or teen. Default first signpost for the 11-to-18 age range. Parents Helpline 0808 802 5544 · Mon, Thu, Fri 9.30am-4pm; Tue, Wed 9.30am-6pm · Webchat Mon-Fri 9.30am-4pm; email parents@youngminds.org.uk www.youngminds.org.uk/parent
• NCT (National Childbirth Trust). The UK’s leading early-years charity. The right line for families in the pregnancy and under-fives years, including the toddler tantrums, toilet training, language development, and the early aggression that the very-young-child tips hold. Quick tips and chapters across the 2-5 years cluster. NCT’s parent-facing resources are calm, evidence-anchored, and the cleanest UK source we know for the developmental sequence of the early years. The Infant Feeding Line holds the breastfeeding and early-feeding territory specifically. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. NCT Infant Feeding Line and Parent Support 0300 330 0700 · Daily 8am-midnight (Infant Feeding Line) www.nct.org.uk

For the move to university and the decisions after eighteen

• UCAS. The UK’s central post-18 admissions service. The right institutional reference for families navigating the GCSE results, A-level choices, university applications, and the wider post-16 routes including apprenticeships. Quick tips and chapters on the school-leavers cluster, including GCSE results day, the decision not to go to university, and the apprenticeship conversation. UCAS holds the university pathway calmly; the parent-facing material on the wider routes (apprenticeships, gap years, further education) sits alongside. University admissions is the main focus. For apprenticeships in depth, apprenticeships.gov.uk is fuller. www.ucas.com/parents

If you are considering private therapy

Waiting lists are long. If you can meet the cost, a registered therapist can usually be seen in weeks rather than months. Both registers below are accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, which is the thing to check before anything else.

• BACP Therapist Directory. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s public register. Search by area, by what you are bringing, and by whether the therapist works with children. www.bacp.co.uk/search/Therapists
• NCPS Therapist Directory. The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society’s register. Every therapist listed is qualified, supervised, insured, and accountable to a code of ethics. ncps.com/find-a-counsellor
• Kensington Square Therapy. Our own practice. We work with children, young people and parents, in the room at 23 Kensington Square, online, and inside schools we partner with. www.kst.ltd

What to look for in a therapist, what a first session is like, and the questions worth asking before you commit, are set out at theparentbook.com/finding-a-therapist

Everything else

The full directory, across every subject, is at theparentbook.com/services. If a number here has changed, please tell us at hello@theparentbook.com and we will correct it.