Next steps, less stress

Here's what's coming up:

• Well - that was unexpected

• What’s going on at Orli?

  • Do young people know best?

• What we've loved this week!

Well - that was unexpected

Since winning our Innovate UK grant, we’ve been busy developing OrliJourney - a tool that creates a simple pathway and guides you through each step of supporting your child’s journey (starting with anxiety and school avoidance).

Whilst we know the waiting times for support in Sunderland are the UK’s highest, it’s not been easy to find and support Sunderland-based parents with no marketing budget. Parents are incredibly busy and it takes time to build trust, especially when it comes to supporting our children.

So, to say I was a little nervous pre-launch, would be an understatement.

Thankfully, within a few hours, the nerves had gone. We had more parents sign-up in the first 24 hours than we had for the 4 live events we hosted (combined).

Within a few more hours, it became clear just how much work was required for each journey. That said, the team pulled it off and we’ve now onboarded 90% of parents on the app.

Here’s how OrliJourney works

We designed OrliJourney to provide maximum value for minimal effort.

📋 You answer 5 minutes of questions.
🧑⚕️You receive a personalised pathway created by our clinicians:

• Practical steps on what to do next.

• Expert knowledge and actionable insights.

• Three local, online, and professional resources matched to your circumstances.

You can also:

❓ Ask questions anonymously to our team and get trusted advice.
📲 Book a 1:1 call with our clinicians to review and discuss your plan.

Do young people know best?

When we started Orli, we spent the first 12 months speaking to as many people as possible. Euan and I spoke to over 100 parents, teachers, researchers and clinicians in the first few months alone. We hosted workshops and co-design sessions in schools with young people, too.

We still make sure to regularly meet with parents, teachers and most importantly - young people. This week, Stefano (our founder’s associate and chief youth voice), came with us to Angela Ruskin University, Cambridge, to hear from nine marketing students. They presented their marketing plans - giving us new ideas and sharing their vision for how to share Orli with the world.

When designing a service to support young people, it’s vital they remain at the core of everything we do. 2025 is set to be the year where we work directly with young people, as well as their parents.

Recommendation of the week

Dr Jo Mathews has been supporting Orli for the past few months (some of you may have spotted her on our webinars). She runs an incredible service supporting parents and their families: Doctor-Jo.com. As a leading expert in neurodiversity, we’d recommend checking out her parenting plan or booking in for 1:1 sessions.

Best,

Mark
& The Orli Team

Have any friends who could benefit from Orli? Feel free to forward this email to them!

Are you supporting your child with worry, anxiety or school avoidance?
Join Orli: https://orlijourney.typeform.com/to/AnbwJ8zp