The Northern Ireland Network of Child Contact Centres supports a network of local centres that provide safe, child-focused contact arrangements for families following separation.
We work to promote best practice, provide guidance and support to centres, and ensure that services across Northern Ireland operate to consistent standards with the welfare of children at their core.
Child Contact Centres
- Child Contact Centres provide supported contact, which is different from supervised contact. One-to-one supervision is not provided.
- Centres are child-centred environments. Staff and trained volunteers manage contact sessions to reduce distress and ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children and families.
- Where concerns arise, centres may take appropriate action, including bringing a session to an end if it becomes disruptive or unsafe.
- Some centres may facilitate observation sessions during normal contact hours. This is at the discretion of individual centres and must be requested in advance. Separate rooms and supervised contact are not available, unless the centre has facilities for a social worker to carry this out.
- Each centre carries out its own risk assessment for every referral and will decide whether it is able to offer contact based on the individual circumstances.
- Centres do not provide written reports on contact other than confirming dates and attendance. Any concerns are shared with referrers or relevant professionals in line with safeguarding procedures.
Accreditation and Quality Assurance
The Northern Ireland Network of Child Contact Centres is responsible for supporting and maintaining standards across all member centres.
- The Network carries out accreditation visits to each Child Contact Centre.
- These visits ensure centres meet required standards in safeguarding, practice, governance and the delivery of child-focused services.
- Accreditation provides assurance to families, referrers and professionals that centres operate safely, consistently and in line with agreed policies and best practice.
- Ongoing support, guidance and training are provided to help centres continually improve and maintain high standards of care.
Contact Centres carry out Supported Contact
What is this? Supported and Supervised Contact, what’s the Difference?
