A safe and friendly place to meet

Guidelines for Parents

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Our Child Contact Centre is based at Birmingham Salvation Army Church on alternate Saturdays from 10am to 12 noon.

Please note that our Child Contact Centre offers supported contact only. Supported contact takes place in a variety of neutral community venues where there are facilities to enable children to develop and maintain positive relationships with non-resident parents and other family members. Supported Child Contact Centres are suitable for families when no significant risk to the child or those around the child has been identified.

 

The basic elements of supported contact are:

• Impartiality

• Volunteers are available for assistance, but there is no close observation, monitoring or evaluation of individual contacts or conversations

• Several families are usually together in one room

• Encouragement for families to develop mutual trust and consider more satisfactory family venues

• Apart from attendance dates and times, no detailed report will be made to a referrer, CAFCASS, a party’s solicitor or Court, unless there is a risk of harm to the child, parent or Centre worker

• An acknowledgement that it is to be viewed as a temporary arrangement which will be reviewed after an agreed period of time

 

  1. The Centre Coordinator should receive a completed referral form. The Centre will then contact you to arrange a pre-visit interview.
  2. Separate pre-visit interviews for all parties prior to the start of contact sessions will ensure that everyone knows what facilities are available and what to expect at the Centre.
  3. Only people named on the referral form will be allowed admittance to the Child Contact Centre. This may be varied by written agreement by both parties. We can also facilitate Handovers when a written agreement by both parties enables the non-resident parent to spend some of the Contact session time outside the Centre.  Different arrival and departure times are agreed for non-resident and resident parents.
  4. Parents are responsible for their children at all times whilst they are at the Child Contact Centre.
  5. This Child Contact Centre provides Supported Contact and therefore will not knowingly accept a referral when somebody involved has been convicted of any offence relating to a) physical or b) sexual abuse of any child.
  6. The Child Contact Centre reserves the right to reduce or terminate contact if it is felt to be in the best interest of the child.
  7. Parents should note that the welfare of the child is paramount.
  8. The Centre should be viewed as a temporary facility to help establish contact. The Coordinator will be asking for your assistance to review your family’s progress, usually after six months.
  9. Please notify the Coordinator if the arrangements for contact are going to change or if contact is going to cease.

Birmingham Salvation Army Child Contact Centre is an accredited Member of the National Association of Child Contact Centres (member number 345-2) and operates in accordance with its National Standards for Child Contact Centres. We have working policies on the following:

All these policies are available to view at the Centre or by clicking the links above .

Anyone wishing to contact the Coordinator may do so on 07717335699 or by email Graham.Andrews@salvationarmy.org.uk