Lycali Is Now CQC Registered: Reflecting on Our Journey So Far
We are delighted to share that Lycali Therapies & Assessment Ltd is now registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) — an important milestone in our journey from a small Speech and Language Therapy service to a growing multidisciplinary neurodevelopmental provider.
Where It Started
Lycali was founded in August 2022.
At that point, we were primarily a specialist Speech and Language Therapy service, working from St Augustine’s in Westgate.
The organisation was much smaller than it is today, with a focus on communication assessment, therapy and support for children, young people and families.
As the service developed, we moved from Westgate to Cliftonville and gradually began expanding both the range of services offered and the professionals working alongside us.
Moving Into Neurodevelopmental Assessment
In early 2023, Lycali began offering autism assessments.
Later that year, we introduced ADHD assessment pathways.
This marked a significant shift for Lycali. Rather than operating solely as a Speech and Language Therapy provider, we began developing into a broader neurodevelopmental service.
As demand increased, so did our team, with more associate clinicians and practitioners joining Lycali across assessment, intervention and neurodevelopmental support.
Expanding Into Psychology and Psychotherapy
As Lycali continued to grow, we introduced psychology and psychotherapy services.
This development reflected something we have always felt strongly about: diagnosis is only one part of a person’s experience.
For many children, adults and families, the questions that come after an assessment can be just as important:
What does this mean for me?
How do I understand my needs?
What support might help?
How do I explain this to other people?
What practical changes can I make?
Developing psychological, psychotherapeutic and post-diagnostic support allowed us to begin offering support beyond the assessment itself.
A New Home at the Kent Innovation Centre
In April 2025, Lycali moved to our current base at the Kent Innovation Centre.
This represented another important step in our growth and provided a more established home for our developing clinical and administrative service.
Working With Kent County Council
In June 2025, we began working with Kent County Council, initially delivering Speech and Language Therapy and EHCP-related work across East Kent.
This work has since expanded into West Kent and has enabled Lycali to contribute to support for children and young people across a wider part of the county.
Developing the L.Y.C.A.L.I Framework™
In September 2025, we began developing the L.Y.C.A.L.I Framework™.
The framework grew from a simple idea: people deserve meaningful support after neurodevelopmental assessment, not simply a diagnostic report.
The framework remains in development and is currently used within our psychoeducation and post-diagnostic support pathways, delivered through members of our psychology and psychotherapy team.
Making Support More Accessible
In April 2026, we launched the Lycali Access to Support Fund.
The fund was created to help improve access to specialist neurodevelopmental support for individuals and families who may otherwise struggle to fund services privately.
In May 2026, we also launched our ADHD Women’s Coffee Morning, providing a free and informal space for women to connect, share experiences and access community support.
These initiatives remain an important part of what we want Lycali to represent as we continue to grow.
Strengthening Our Governance and Digital Security
Growth in healthcare brings responsibility.
Throughout 2025 and 2026, a significant amount of work took place behind the scenes to strengthen Lycali’s governance, safeguarding, clinical systems, information governance, quality assurance and risk management.
In July 2026, Lycali achieved Cyber Essentials certification and completed the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT).
These milestones reflect our ongoing commitment to protecting sensitive information and developing systems appropriate for a growing healthcare organisation.
Our First Successful Tender
July 2026 also brought another important milestone when Lycali secured its first successful tender with Kent County Council.
This includes work associated with Virtual School Kent, Adoption Services and Special Educational Needs.
We have also submitted bids for a number of other commissioned services, including dyslexia assessment and diagnostic autism assessment, with some outcomes still awaited.
For us, public-sector work is not simply about organisational growth. It creates opportunities for specialist assessment and support to become available to people through commissioned pathways as well as private care.
Becoming CQC Registered
In August 2026, Lycali became a CQC registered and regulated provider.
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
For Lycali, achieving registration represents an important stage in our development as a healthcare provider.
A significant amount of work sits behind the services people see. Clinical governance, safeguarding arrangements, recruitment, supervision, training, information governance, risk management, quality assurance and clearly defined clinical pathways are all part of building a safe and sustainable service.
Receiving our CQC registration is therefore something we are incredibly proud of — but we also see it as a starting point rather than a finish line.
Developing Our Psychosocial Services
CQC registration also supports the next stage of Lycali’s development.
We have developed a structured Psychosocial Needs Assessment and Psychosocial Intervention service, led by qualified social workers and supported by our wider multidisciplinary team.
This pathway is designed to help people explore the impact of neurodevelopmental, emotional, social and practical needs on everyday life and identify meaningful, person-centred strategies for change.
A Growing Multidisciplinary Team
Lycali now brings together professionals from an increasingly broad range of disciplines.
In September 2026, Lycali will also welcome our first directly employed member of the administrative team.
Until now, the organisation has developed predominantly through an associate workforce model, making this another important step in building the infrastructure behind our clinical services.
Recognition Along the Way
We are also delighted to have been shortlisted as a Small Business Awards finalist.
Being recognised in this way is particularly meaningful when we look back at where Lycali started in 2022 and how much has developed in a relatively short period of time.
From a Small SLT Service to a Growing Multidisciplinary Provider
What began in August 2022 as a small Speech and Language Therapy service has grown into a multidisciplinary neurodevelopmental organisation delivering assessment, therapy, post-diagnostic support, psychosocial intervention and commissioned services.
There is still a great deal we want to develop.
Our aim is not simply to become bigger. It is to continue building services carefully, strengthening our clinical pathways and governance, developing our workforce and creating support that feels useful, accessible and genuinely centred around the individual.
CQC registration is a major milestone in that journey — and we are excited about what comes next.