Every feeling deserves a friend.

We’re doctors, psychologists, educators and parents. Orli turns feelings into little friends, so children can show the grown-ups around them how they really feel.

Request a free trial Meet the team
Our team, each as their own Orli.

We kept meeting children whose support arrived too late.

We both began our careers supporting young people: one through psychology, one through frontline healthcare. Working in trauma settings and A&E, we saw how often help only arrives once a crisis hits.

When we met in Manchester, we found we shared the same aim: help children earlier. Early research and pilots told us that mental health education wasn’t engaging enough, and that families often feel unsupported while they wait.

So we designed Orli around connection. The idea grew, and so did the name.

Orli means my light.

The breakthrough came in school workshops. Children started creating characters with us, and they leaned in straight away. Those characters became the Orlis.

Dr Mark Cox and Euan Bell, smiling, at a workshop table with other people.
Orli’s founders, Dr Mark Cox and Euan Bell, in the early days.
A child making her own Orli from pipe cleaners at a table, beside a member of the Orli team.
Making an Orli, with one of the team.

Children learn regulation through attachment, play and repetition.

Four principles shape everything we build.

  1. Feelings need to be felt, not swiped.

    Regulation sticks when it’s embodied, so Orli links digital play with real-world rituals and sensory tools.

  2. Play builds safety. Safety builds skill.

    Children practise breathing, movement and reflection as part of the game.

  3. It takes a village, and a shared language.

    Orli connects children, parents and educators around the same characters and rituals.

  4. Co-created, not prescribed.

    Children shape new characters and stories in the Orliverse. Ownership creates attachment, and attachment creates habits.

We built Orli because we’ve seen this up close.

So we built something children actually want to use.

  • Mark’s Orli: a purple Orli with a stethoscope and an Orli shield.

    Dr Mark Cox

    CEO and A&E doctor

    “As an emergency doctor, I’ve seen how important it is to build emotional skills long before crisis. I started Orli to make sure every child can do just that.”

  • Euan’s Orli: a green Orli in a white Orli cap, with earphones.

    Euan Bell

    COO and psychologist

    “As a psychologist, I’ve worked with families in schools who needed support earlier.”

  • Karla’s Orli: a yellow Orli in an explorer’s hat, with binoculars and a compass.

    Dr Karla Pretorius

    Chief Clinical Officer

  • James’s Orli: a red Orli with a padlock, a cloud of connections and a hammer.

    James Blackwood

    Chief Technical Officer

  • Debbie’s Orli: a pink Orli in a rainbow jumper, with a heart, a book and a pot of pencils.

    Debbie McWhorter

    Education Implementation Lead

  • Ryan’s Orli: a blue Orli with a little robot arm and a laptop.

    Ryan McClure

    Head of Product

  • Jazz’s Orli: a pink Orli with a globe, binoculars and a rising chart.

    Jazz Chambers

    Product Manager

  • Lucas’s Orli: an orange Orli with a light bulb, crayons and a drawing of a family.

    Lucas McAdden

    Chief Ideator and Chair of the Youth Board

  • Lucy’s Orli: a pale blue Orli in a suit, sitting on a cloud.

    Lucy Bulley

    Board Advisor

  • Patrick’s Orli: a pale blue Orli in a suit and tie, with a target, a chess piece and little message icons.

    Patrick Rona

    Brand and Marketing Advisor

What each of us says

  • Dr Karla Pretorius Chief Clinical Officer

    “Orli must always be neuro-affirming, trauma-informed and grounded in real psychology.”

  • James Blackwood Chief Technical Officer

    “I care deeply about designing safe, secure technology children can trust.”

  • Debbie McWhorter Education Implementation Lead

    “With over 20 years in education as a teacher and school leader, I help schools implement Orli in ways that truly fit.”

  • Ryan McClure Head of Product

    “As a design engineer, director and co-founder, I build human-centred products that create lasting impact for children, families and schools.”

  • Jazz Chambers Product Manager

    “I turn real user needs into meaningful experiences for young people, families and educators.”

  • Lucas McAdden Chief Ideator and Chair of the Youth Board

    “Every Orli character should feel like it was made just for that child.”

  • Lucy Bulley Board Advisor

    “The best products are ones children don’t want to put down, and parents don’t need to worry about.”

  • Patrick Rona Brand and Marketing Advisor

    “With 20+ years building global brands and as a parent to neurodiverse children, I bring strategic expertise and lived insight to Orli.”

From early research to real classrooms

A short record of how Orli came to be, and who helped build it.

  1. Research and a first pilot

    Where Orli began: early research, then our first pilot programmes.

  2. Innovate UK NHS pilot: OrliJourney

    Delivered with Together for Children and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust. 200 families completed OrliJourney plans, and 85% of parents said the platform was easy to use and trustworthy.

  3. Report published

    Thiscovery lived experience report

    At the end of 2024 we heard from 131 parents, carers, educators and health workers about waiting for children’s mental health support. What they told us

    Bethnal Green Ventures Tech for Good

    Selected for the programme, with £60k in venture funding to develop Orli’s technology and impact model.

    Hustle ’25 Awards: Social Heroes winner

    The judges picked out Orli’s mission-led approach and a child-led design that makes emotional support engaging.

  4. Create Your Orli workshops

    Twenty workshops, and more than 1,000 Orlis made by children.

    The Children’s Society: Buy One, Give One

    For every Orli Complete Package a family buys, a full Orli programme goes to a child supported by The Children’s Society.

    NatWest pitch final

    Chosen from more than 600 startups for the final five, with £70k of funding and £25k of marketing support from JCDecaux.

  5. A pilot in Ukraine with Svitlo Education

    Our first sessions outside the UK, with children whose lives have been disrupted by war. Where a child lives shouldn’t decide whether they get emotional support.

    Launching across Sunderland

    Ten schools signed up with Sunderland’s Together for Children, our first large-scale rollout. Eight took part in the May to July programme.

Co-created with schools and counting.

Built alongside educators, pupils and school communities.

  • Together for Children, Sunderland
  • Consilium Academies
  • Consilium Evolve
  • St. Vincent’s Catholic Primary School
  • Washington Academy
  • Thornhill Academy
  • Ripple Primary School
  • Mowlem Primary School and Children’s Centre
  • Vale of Evesham School
  • Beechwood Park
  • Svitlo School

What staff and pupils told us

Staff and pupil feedback from our Early Adopter Programme, delivered with Together for Children.

  • 100% of participating pupils said they felt a stronger sense of belonging at school1

  • 97% of children said they feel more ready to learn1

  • 91% of sessions rated effective by staff1

  • 75% of staff said Orli cut planning time and helped manage behaviour incidents1

By belonging, we mean a child feels welcome, valued and respected at school, and knows there’s someone they can talk to.

¹ Orli Early Adopter Programme, May to July 2026. Eight schools in Sunderland, delivered with Together for Children: 103 sessions, 286 pupils, 21 groups, 18 staff trained. Staff and pupil self-report; how many answered each question is still being checked.

Who answered, how we asked and what these figures can’t show: Evidence and impact

Need something to share?

Download our one-page overview and forward it to your head teacher, trust lead or inclusion lead.

Download the one-pager PDF, A4, 1 page, 688 KB

The people we build with

Teachers, school leaders and parents, in their own words.

We didn’t want something one-off. It needs to become part of our culture. Orli gave us the knowledge, the skills and most importantly the habit. Staff still use the language. Kids still reference their avatars. It’s a shift.

Rob Bell Headteacher, Consilium Evolve

  • They’ll be like, oh, can we do an Orli lesson this afternoon? Can we do another one?

    Year 3 teacher, Dubmire Primary

  • Sessions bring children down faster than resolving incidents directly.

    Year 4 teacher, Gillas Lane Primary

  • Making their Orlis was pure magic. They gave them voices, carried them everywhere… even asked if Orli could come to nursery and in the bath.

    Natalie, Parent of two, aged 4 and 6

Your questions, our answers

About us, and about working with us.

More questions schools ask

Come and meet the people behind Orli.

Tell us about your school and we’ll tell you honestly whether Orli’s a fit. If it isn’t, we’ll say so. Or email hello@orli.health.

Request a free trial Download the one-pager