Children's Home run by Lantern Care Homes Ltd in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 1 Registered provider: Lantern Care Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider and cares for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager position has been vacant since November 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. They did not wish to speak to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 2

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improvement to be good

Children live in a clean, safe, and well-maintained home environment. However, parts of the setting appear sparse, with some fixtures removed and not yet replaced following one child’s departure from the home. This detracts from the homely feel and sense of stability for the child living in the home and indicates delays in restoring the environment in a timely way.

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improvement to be good

Staff develop positive and trusting relationships with children and demonstrate warmth and care. Staff adapt their approach to meet individual needs. For one child, staff used written communication to support emotional expression. This helped to reduce distress, supported emotional safety, and enabled staff to respond more effectively during periods of heightened anxiety.

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improvement to be good

The child who lives here chose not to speak with the inspector. Observations of care showed the child to be relaxed and comfortable with staff. Although structured activities were limited at the time of the visit, interactions were calm and respectful, indicating that children experience generally positive day-to-day care.

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress, however, is not consistently sustained. One child moved into the home during a period of leadership instability. This decision had a significant negative impact on the other child living here, who had previously been making good progress. Staff were unable to consistently meet the needs of both children at the same time. As a result, the child’s relationships deteriorated, her emotional wellbeing declined, and progress stalled or regressed. This demonstrates that admission decisions were not sufficiently informed by an accurate assessment of workforce capacity or capability.

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improvement to be good

One child’s move from the home was poorly planned and did not promote emotional wellbeing. The child was given very limited time to prepare and was not supported through a gradual or trauma-informed transition. The lack of planning, communication, and emotional support meant the child experienced the move as abrupt and distressing, which undermined their sense of safety and trust.

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improvement to be good

There is no clear or effective plan in place to support one child who is approaching adulthood. Earlier placement decisions reduced the child’s access to activities and individual time with staff. As a result, opportunities to promote independence, emotional development, and preparation for the next stage of life are limited. Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 3

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding concerns are responded to in line with procedures. However, leaders and managers do not consistently ensure that learning from incidents is clearly identified, shared, or embedded into practice to reduce future risk.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from care, staff generally respond promptly and follow procedures. However on two occasions when a child subject to restrictions of their liberty and requiring constant supervision was able to leave the property. One incident occurred due to staff error. These incidents highlight weaknesses in supervision arrangements and environmental safety. Leaders and managers have not ensured that learning from these events has sufficiently strengthened practice.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments do not consistently provide clear, proactive strategies for managing high-risk behaviours. Although ligature risk is identified, there is no specific ligature risk assessment in place to guide staff. As a result, practice is often reactive, and some risks are not anticipated or reduced effectively.

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improvement to be good

Records of physical intervention are inconsistent and lack sufficient detail. Some records are authorised by managers who were directly involved in the incidents, which does not provide appropriate independent oversight. Leaders and managers do not consistently scrutinise records to ensure accuracy, accountability, or learning.

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improvement to be good

Staff show care and commitment to children. However, weaknesses in risk management, recording, and management oversight mean that safeguarding practice is not consistently effective. In one serious incident, staff did not seek timely medical advice, and management oversight was limited. Debrief discussions do not consistently explore underlying risk or inform future safety planning. As a result, children are not consistently protected from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is no registered manager in post. An experienced operations manager provides additional oversight; however, staff are unclear about roles and responsibilities. Leadership instability limits consistent direction, accountability, and effective decision- making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff describe a caring and supportive culture. However, leaders and managers have not ensured that staff are sufficiently trained, supported, or experienced to meet the needs of children with complex safeguarding risks. Staff report feeling overwhelmed and describe gaps in safeguarding knowledge, including self-harm, ligature risk, and deprivation of liberty safeguards. Practice is often reactive rather than planned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The provider’s Statement of Purpose is not a true reflection of the care delivered. The Statement of Purpose describes a bespoke specialist provision that is not reflected in Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 4 practice. This creates a risk of inappropriate admissions. One child’s placement ended shortly after admission because their needs could not be met safely or effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers did not ensure that admission arrangements, restrictions, and expectations were clearly agreed with placing authorities or explained to the child in a transparent, child-centred way. Professional disagreement between the provider and a placing authority contributed to distress and instability for the child. This demonstrates weaknesses in leadership oversight and planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Feedback from professionals is mixed. Some professionals recognise caring relationships between staff and children. However, concerns are raised about the inexperience of the staff team, lawful and proportionate restrictions, rushed admissions, and supervision arrangements. These weaknesses limit the provider’s ability to manage risk consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not provide sufficient scrutiny of incidents. Managers have authorised records for incidents in which they were involved, which undermines independent oversight and learning. Supervision and team meetings are supportive but are not consistently used for reflective practice or to strengthen professional judgement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Training for staff is generic and not sufficiently tailored to children’s specific risks. Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff have the skills, confidence, and guidance needed to safeguard children effectively and promote consistent progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure risk assessments clearly identify known risks and set out proactive strategies to manage high-risk behaviours, staff have the skills to identify and manage risk and take timely and appropriate action to protect children from harm. Medical advice for children must be sought without delay when illness, injury or accident occurs. 22 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 22 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 6 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is clear and consistent leadership, with effective oversight and decision-making. Robust systems must be in place to monitor safeguarding practice, risk management, and the quality of care. The registered person must also ensure that staff receive training and supervision that is relevant to the specific risks and needs of the children, so that practice is informed, consistent, and safe.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(2)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure the home is being run in line with the statement of purpose and that the provider is able to offer the quality of service detailed in this document. 22 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 22 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 7 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children are supported to move in a planned way that promotes emotional wellbeing and stability and endings are managed safely and sensitively, with appropriate preparation and emotional support for the child.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should judge whether the incident is sufficiently serious to make formal notifications and, if it is, which other relevant persons may be notified, for example, the police, probation service, health professionals, the local authority for the area the home is located in (if this is not the child’s placing authority) and others involved with the care or protection of the child. This should be completed within 24

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Recommendations

hours prior to any investigation into the incident taking place (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.12)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lantern Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C9 Glyme Court, Oxford Office Village, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1LQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Victoria Hodgkins

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Inspector

Lauren Barwell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2838080 9 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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