Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No What is a Contact Centre? Child contact centres aim to provide a safe, neutral and comfortable place for children to see a non- resident parent or other family members.

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No The National Association of Child Contact Centres is a registered charity and an umbrella body that – Sets standards that all centres have to adhere to Checks centres are safe and meets standards through an accreditation process Provides training, advice and other resources to Contact Centres Provides information to families and other agencies about Contact centres. Its core aim is ‘Keeping children in touch with parents following separation.’ What is NACCC?

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No Ensuring children are safe at all times Child centred within the family, where parents work collaboratively and there is a reduction of conflict Promoting equality, celebrating diversity Independent and impartial Respecting individuals, preserving confidentiality Valuing and supporting voluntary service Sharing skills and expertise to achieve better outcomes for children and their families. What are the values of NACCC and its members?

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No Role of the Centres Provides a safe and neutral venue. Enables positive contact, with appropriate toys and games. Encourages mutual trust within families. Helps build positive relationships. Remains an impartial environment.

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No Types of Centre/Service The needs of families vary widely so there are two kinds of Contact Centres: Supported Supervised

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No Supported Contact Centres They are suitable for families where no significant risk to the child or those around the child have been identified Families do not need close, individual supervision and several families can be in a contact room together though staff and volunteers are available for assistance A stepping stone to better family relationships and more relaxed contact arrangements No reports are made or feedback given, unless there are concerns about a child’s welfare. Centres can, if asked give a list of attendance Viewed as a temporary arrangement

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No Supervised Contact Necessary when a child has suffered or is at risk of suffering harm during contact Requires trained and highly skilled supervisors Is planned and coordinated with other professionals Requires individual supervision of families Feedback and reports are made Some supervised centres also offer – Escorted contact, Indirect contact and Life story/identity contact

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No Why do families attend? Contact arrangements cannot be agreed between parents. Parents may no longer trust each other. There may be some concerns about a parent. Non-resident parent may have nowhere to spend time with his or her child. Re-introduction of parent to child. Assessment of parent.

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No How to make a referral Anyone can make a referral though some centres do not accept self referrals. Contact your local centre for details. A referral form will need to be filled in. Some centres are part of an online referral system - see Safe Referral System on the website. Please note – Parents do not need to be going through the court system or have a solicitor to be able to use a centre

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No What happens next? If the Referral is accepted parents will be asked to attend (separately) a pre-contact interview at the Contact Centre where everything will be explained to parents including the centre rules.

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No How much does it cost? Centres vary in what they charge. Some Supported centres are free to use. Some charge a small registration fee, others charge for each session. Supervised contact does cost more than supported contact.

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No For how long can you use one? Attendance should only be for a limited time until arrangements can be sorted out by the family. Up to about 6 sessions is usually the starting point. If contact is supervised at first, families often move on to a Supported Centre.

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No What rules are there? As few rules as possible We have rules so that children (and family members) are safe and everyone knows what to expect They will be explained to parents at the pre visit If rules are broken or ignored, contact will be stopped and may not resume

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No Supported Centres are usually run by carefully selected and trained volunteers. Supervised Centres are run by suitably qualified and/or experienced staff. All staff and volunteers involved with contact centres are DBS checked Who runs Child Contact Centres?

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No All staff and volunteers are carefully vetted. Risk assessments are carried out on families who wish to attend a centre. Safeguarding children is of paramount importance. Various measures are put in place to ensure parents are not at risk from their ex-partner at the Centre such as staggered arrival and departure times and separate entrances and exits. How safe are they?

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No How to find a Contact Centre Go onto the NACCC website then click on Find a contact centre How to find your local centre 1.Select if you need Supported or Supervised contact 2.Then search in three ways: By county/area By Town name By name of centre (if known) Alternatively you can ring the helpline (details on website) for further details between 9.30am and 4.30pm.

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No Your local Child Contact Centre is -