Referral Portal

We can only accept referrals for children and young people who are registered with a Bedfordshire or Luton GP. Read more about our referral criteria.

We only accept referrals via SystmOne or our referral portal. We do not accept paper or email referrals.

The referral portal is an online referral system for professionals to use who do not have access to SystmOne. If you are a professional with SystmOne access you can continue to use that to refer in to the Community Paediatric Service.

GPs are encouraged to use SystmOne to refer for concerns not related to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Where GPs have concerns around ASD, parent, carer or young person should liaise with early years setting or school SENCO. If the young person is over 13 years old, please refer to CAMHS.
Where GPs have concerns around ADHD, parent, carer or young person should liaise with the school SENCO.

Explore the topics on this page:

Access the referral portal

Who can use the referral portal

Information needed for a referral

How to use the referral portal

What happens after a referral is submitted

Access the referral portal

To refer a child or young person to Community Paediatrics, please complete the online referral form within the referral portal.

You can start the online referral form, log out, and come back to finish it later if needed.

If you are unable to access the referral portal or would like training or support in making a referral, please contact us.

Access the referral portal

Creating an account

If this is your first time using the referral portal, you will need to sign up and create an account. Follow the steps below to create an account.

Access the referral portal
Click the 'login/sign up' button
A login page will appear. Click the 'sign up now' button to create an account and enter your email address and create a password.

The referral portal is for professional use only. If you are a parent or carer, please speak to your child or young person's school or GP.

We accept referrals from health and education professionals known to the child. We require as much information as possible about the child's developmental level and academic progress. We only accept referrals from health or education professionals who are in Luton or Bedfordshire.
- For pre-school children, we would encourage the referral to be made by 0 to 19 team via SystmOne or the pre-school setting using the referral portal.
- For children and young people in school or an education setting, we ask for the SENDCO to make the referral using the referral portal.
- For home educated children and young people, the referral can be made by the GP, other health professional, or home tutor working directly with the child or young person. GPs and other health professionals can refer in using SystmOne. Home tutors can refer in using the referral portal.
We recommend GPs and other health professionals ask parents to liaise with the education setting to make the referral to us where possible. This helps to make sure referrals contain enough information on the child's development to be triaged accurately and efficiently. If a child is being home educated, referrals from GPs and other health professionals are appropriate. GPs and other health professionals should continue to refer to our services via SystmOne.
Child or young person's information:
- Full name
- NHS number
- Date of birth
- Address
- GP Details
- First language
- School details
Parent or carer's information:
- Full name
- NHS number
- Phone number
- Email address
- First language
When submitting a referral, please include all necessary reports, like the Conners Questionnaire and SCDQ, and at least one school term's worth of evidence of support strategies in place, and includes progress with expected outcomes. For example, Individual Education (IEP)/SEND Support/Behaviour Support Plan, and Assess, Plan, Do, Review.

This helps us gather all the information needed to make the best decision about the child's care. Since many children have overlapping conditions, having complete information at the start is important.

You don't need to repeat yourself when completing the form. Instead, if you find some questions repetitive you can refer back to where you’ve already provided the information or consider adding new details if relevant.

The school report section is also important, even for schools filling out the form. It allows for additional information about the child's progress that may not be in the referral form. This gives a complete view of the child.

For children in school, we ask that referrals be made by the school and not the GP. This way, the referral includes enough information about the child's development to be processed accurately and efficiently.

Status boxes on the form help you track your referrals:
- Draft referrals: Shows how many referrals you've started but not yet submitted.
- Submitted referrals: Shows how many referrals you've sent to our service.
- Completed referrals: Shows how many of your submitted referrals have been processed by our service.

What happens after a referral is submitted

When a professional submits a referral, they will get an automatic email to confirm it. There will also be an option to download a copy of the referral.

If the referral includes a parent or carer's email address, they will also get an email letting them know the referral has been submitted. This email will include information on where to get help while they wait to hear back.

We aim to respond with a decision of the referral outcome within 8 weeks. While waiting to hear back about the referral, support should be given to the child or young person based on their needs, not just on a diagnosis.

For more support, you can contact your SENDCO, educational psychologist, local school advisor, or early help team. You can also read our information in the Neurodiversity support pack.

Referral Portal

Explore the topics on this page:

Access the referral portal

Creating an account

Child or young person's information:

Parent or carer's information:

What happens after a referral is submitted

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