Our contact centre is a safe & neutral venue for children of separated families to meet with their non-resident parent or other family members. The most important people in the centre are the children. We aim to provide a warm and friendly atmosphere for them and have age appropriate toys, games and activities for them to use.
Our service is run by a team of fully trained staff and volunteers independent from the courts, social services or any statutory agency. You might need to use our contact centre if you and your former partner don’t want to see each other but would each like to see the children. You may not be able to agree on times and venues for contact to take place, or the court may have issued a contact order stating contact to take place at a centre. There is nothing to worry about, contact centres are child-centred friendly places!
Our Contact Centre offers both supported contact and supervised contact as well as room hire. Families can also use our Centre as a hand over point.
During Supported Contact our team will be on hand to support the session if required, but they may not remain in the contact room for the whole session. They are unable to make reports about visits, verbal or written, apart from the dates and times that families have attended. The only exception is if we believe there is a risk of harm to a child, member of staff, volunteer or other centre user. Other families may be present at the centre.
During Supervised Contact a supervisor will remain in the room at all times during the sessions. They will make notes during the session which will be used to form a report. Reports can be requested by CAFCASS, Family Court, Social Services and you can also request a report. The report will be shared only with the organisation or person requesting it, it will not be shared with anyone else without the permission of both parents/carers. Supervised contact sessions are private and only one family will be allocated to the room, other families may be present elsewhere in the contact centre.
Visits to the contact centre are by referral only. To make a referral please contact us at linkworkchildcontactcentre@womens-work.org.uk to request a referral pack.
To read more about our service please read A Referrer’s Guide to Our Contact Centre.
Information for Parents –
The NACCC website www.naccc.org.uk has links to useful websites, stories from people who have used contact centres, and a comprehensive question and answer page for both mums and dads.
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service provides publications for adults (including parenting plans), young children, older children and young people. Call them on 0844 353 4332 or look at their website www.cafcass.gov.uk
National Family Mediation www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk help families in conflict, especially those divorcing or separating, sort out arrangements for children, property and money.
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Staff are very friendly and are always happy to help. Tutor brings relevant up to date handouts for additional information and support.
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