Resident Parent or Carer

Here to support you with a request for child contact

Have you received a request for child contact either from our team or via a court order? Feeling confused about what this means and what happens next? Here we’ll take you through exactly what you can expect, covering all aspects of safety, the process and how we decide on the right contact for the child or children involved.

What is child contact?

Child contact, now formally known as Family Time, is contact between a child and a non-resident parent or carer. It ordinarily is needed when a relationship breaks down and parents struggle to agree on when children will see the parent they don’t live with. Sometimes, child contact needs to be arranged by a professional because there are safety concerns, or an existing relationship doesn’t exist between the child and the non-resident parent or carer. You can find out more about the different types of child contact here.

Depending on your circumstances, your family time plan will include one of the below types of family time as a starter

No two families are exactly alike, and neither are their reasons for separation. Whilst differences occur, our approach to finding the right support for you and the children involved remains the same. We take a high level of care to ensure that in-depth information is gathered about all parties before deciding on what type of child contact will be best. We take into consideration any concerns both the non-resident and resident parents or carers have, and most importantly, the child or children’s wellbeing and safety.

Find out more about our detailed process.

Keeping you and the child safe at all times

Yours and your child's safety whilst visiting our Family Time Centre is our top priority. That’s why we’ve gone above and beyond with the safety and security protocols we have in place.

CCTV is in place for everyone’s safety

Security code entry and exit

No photographic devices allowed

Staggered and separate arrivals

High fences around perimeter

Our centre

FAQ’s

Without a court order in place, a contact centre referral is only successful where both parties agree. Neither NACCC nor the contact centre have any powers to make anyone attend a child contact centre. If a party is not agreeable to contact, you should seek some legal advice.
Yours and your child's safety whilst visiting our Family Time Centre is our top priority. That’s why we’ve gone above and beyond with the safety and security protocols we have in place. Find out more about our centre.
With agreement from all parties to do so. There may be extra charges so the staff can be in place to support. Unless there is full agreement your partner or other family members will not be able to go into the centre.
With the agreement from the non-resident parent only. It depends on the circumstances of the family.
During our assessment process, we identify the level of support needed from our team and make suggestions as to which type of contact will be best. If we identify that the non-resident parent or carer may need additional support, we will build this into your contact plan.
If you are uncomfortable with seeing your ex, we can make arrangements to ensure this doesn't happen. For example, our handover service enables you to drop off your children 15 minutes before the meet time and at a different entrance. Our team will then take care of the child until the other parent arrives at a different entrance also. You can remain onsite in one of our private areas if required, or come back after your ex has left to collect your child.
All child contact plans differ, therefore there is no set cost. However, we do have a price guide that will help you calculate what the initial costs may be and the costs per session thereafter.
We understand this is very difficult for children and our accreditation with NACCC allows us to access excellent resources for children via the NACCC website www://naccc.or.uk/for-children/. We have resources designed for the children to make them feel at ease and the centre is designed for the children. The centre was once a nursery and childcare company for 19 years and has been transferred into a contact centre specifically for the enjoyment of the children. Some children have actions or passwords with the staff team so they know they are important and can leave the family time if they feel unsafe or unhappy. We organise a pre-contact visit with all of those involved and have a designated team member who is overseeing how the children feel and listening to their needs. The website www.thestartingpointcentre.co.uk/our-centre shows the centre and identifies the resources and space we have available to play and have fun whilst meeting their other family members.
If you have an existing court order, this will state the type of contact required. However, if this is not the case, our specialist team will perform a detailed assessment which will determine the best type of contact.