The ADHD Waitlist Generation:

What Schools Can Do While the System Catches Up

ADHD Waitlists in UK Schools: Infrastructure Solutions

Across the UK, many schools are supporting children who show clear signs of ADHD, without the clinical clarity or funding that often comes with a formal diagnosis. NHS pathways are stretched. Some families are waiting years. Others are absorbing private costs that many simply cannot afford.

According to BBC analysis of NHS Business Services Authority data, private ADHD prescriptions rose from 28,439 in 2018–19 to 397,552 in 2023–24, a 1,300% increase (BBC News, 2024). Parents interviewed for the report described remortgaging their homes and spending £500 per month on medication (BBC News, 2024).

For schools, this often translates into a growing cohort of pupils with clear support needs but no confirmed plan. The environment, expectations and emotional landscape remain unchanged, while the complexity rises.

Infrastructure matters, especially when diagnosis is delayed

National reforms including the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan (Department for Education, 2023) rightly focus on earlier identification and inclusion. But with assessment delays often outside school control, the question becomes: what can schools do now?

One answer lies in infrastructure. Not in large-scale capital projects, but in targeted, inclusion-ready space that can be deployed with speed, configured to need, and aligned to guidance.

Evidence indicates that children with ADHD respond strongly to environmental factors. Poor acoustics, harsh lighting and overcrowded settings can trigger dysregulation and behavioural escalation (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2018). Safe and low-stimulus settings are associated with improved attention and reduced anxiety (Guldberg et al., Neurodivergence Taskforce Report, 2025).

LUMIPODD is designed with these principles in mind

Our modular SEND units are not generic. They are co-designed with practitioners, mapped to BB104 and the SEND Code of Practice, and tailored to neurodiverse learners. Each pod can be installed in a matter of days. Each layout reflects what we hear from educators: that schools need calm spaces, not clinical ones, flexibility, not formality.

What might that look like?

• A sensory regulation room attached to a mainstream classroom
  
• A small-group calm zone with natural light and controlled acoustics
  
• A therapeutic base that can flex as needs evolve

These are not architectural extras. They are what make inclusive practice possible, especially when statutory processes are delayed.

Infrastructure as support, not signal

Too often, inclusion is framed as attitude or ethos. It is both, but it is also physical. A child cannot regulate in a hallway. A member of staff cannot support escalation when they have nowhere to de-escalate.

Modular solutions offer a pathway forward. They allow schools to act on need, not just wait for diagnosis. They reduce pressure on mainstream space. And crucially, they demonstrate to Ofsted, local authorities and families that inclusion is embedded, not improvised. Ofsted’s 2024 SEND area inspection framework explicitly assesses the sufficiency and suitability of school environments as part of inclusive provision (Ofsted and CQC, 2024).

Making funding practical

LUMIPODD is also built with funding access in mind. Our capital support service helps schools and Trusts convert need into action. We support planning, specification, bid-writing and compliance. This is especially relevant given the Department for Education’s £740 million capital funding allocation for SEND infrastructure (DfE, 2024). Modular units, sensory spaces and calm rooms are all eligible uses of this funding.

Meeting need with clarity and care

The ADHD waitlist reflects a wider truth: that many children need support long before a diagnosis is confirmed. Schools are rising to the challenge. But they need the tools to do so.

At LUMIPODD, we believe that infrastructure is not just a backdrop to inclusion, it is part of the solution. And we are committed to making that solution fast, fundable and fit for purpose.

References:

• BBC News. (2024). ADHD: Parents remortgaging homes amid NHS delays. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-adhd-private
  
• Department for Education. (2023). SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan
  
• Ofsted and Care Quality Commission. (2024). Area SEND Inspection Framework. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-inspection-framework-and-handbook
  
• Guldberg, K. et al. (2025). Neurodivergence Taskforce Report. Department for Education.
  
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2018). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management. NICE Guideline NG87.
  

LUMIPODD: Smarter SEND Solutions