Child Contact Services

Supporting Children Through Family Change

When parents separate, protecting the relationships between each of you and your children can be a real challenge, but we know how important it is for your child’s well-being and development. Here at Kingston Child Contact Centre, we provide a safe, neutral, and welcoming space where children can spend time with the parents they no longer live with (non-resident parents).

Whether you’re dealing with the early days of separation or managing your longer-term arrangements, we’ll put your children’s needs first. We provide a friendly environment staffed by fully-trained and DBS-checked volunteers who understand what you’re going through.

Parenting doesn’t end when partnerships do. Let us help you support your children.

Supported Contact

Supported contact happens in a welcoming communal space where your child can enjoy time with their non-resident parent. We encourage you and your children to bring favourite toys, books or games to enjoy together. And while our trained volunteers are always around to help if needed, your family will have the time and space to bond.

During supported contact:

  • You, the parents or carers, have the time to focus on your children and are responsible for them throughout
  • You can enjoy sharing their activities – but don’t bring devices, battery-operated toys, balls, or messy play.
  • Snacks and drinks are provided – please don’t bring any food or drink because there are others with serious allergies and food sensitivities
  • Volunteers offer assistance, but don’t monitor your interactions
  • While attendance dates and times are recorded, no other reports are made

Supported contact is perfect if you need a neutral, welcoming venue without formal supervision.

Supervised Contact

For families with a Court Order, we can provide supervised contact in a private room with dedicated volunteers. While this is more formal than our supported service, our priority is making sure these sessions feel as natural and comfortable as possible for your children. Supervised contact is only for families with a court order or a managed referral from social services (if possible).

During supervised contact:

  • Your child can bring toys, books and activities to share with you to enjoy (not devices, battery-operated toys, balls, or messy play)
  • Your family has a space to yourselves
  • A specially trained volunteer will observe the visit
  • Reports on the essence of the meeting are provided for each parent
  • Our supervised family time is limited to 4 sessions (approximately 2 months), because this is a short term arrangement before progressing to another agreement such as Supported contact, handover, community family time, unsupervised etc.

When the priority is creating a safe environment with additional oversight, supervised contact is right for your family.

Handovers

Our handover service makes sure your child has a warm welcome and a comfortable transition between parents. We know that direct contact between adults may be uncomfortable or inappropriate, so we’ll take your child from one parent to another without you needing to interact with your ex-partner.

During handovers:

  • Your child is escorted by our volunteers between the separate entrances
  • The process takes just a few minutes
  • You and your ex-partner wait in separate areas
  • Our volunteers make this a positive and reassuring time for your child

 Handovers are especially valuable if your separation involves high conflict or if court orders restrict direct contact between you and your ex-partner.

The Process –  From Referral to Visit

For Professionals: Referrals

If you’re a professional who is supporting a family through separation, we’re here to help. Please download our Self-Referral Form for your client to complete and email back to us.

We understand your role is to help your client, but it’s important we communicate and meet with them at the centre so they feel secure here, understand our processes, and feel welcome in our space. Once use of the centre has been agreed, we advise you to liaise with your clients for updates, as the focus for our volunteers is on supporting positive experiences for families not managing ongoing administration.

You can contact us by email if you’d like to discuss potential referrals or find out more about our services.

For Parents: Your First Step

If you’re looking for somewhere neutral for parental meetings where your children will feel comfortable and safe, we can help. We’ve created a place where activities and conversations can happen without pressure–and without more expense.

We want to make this simple for you. Our volunteer team understands the challenges your family is facing, and we’re committed to creating a supportive environment where your children’s well-being is the focus.

If you’d like to arrange contact at our centre:

Fees

There is a one-time referral fee of £50 plus a small session fee; you can find out more here on the Visitor Info page

The Pre-Visit: Next Steps

Once completed forms have been received from both parents, we’ll arrange separate pre-meeting interviews—one for the non-resident parent alone, and one for the resident parent with the child(ren).

These meetings are to show you what to expect from our centre and staff, making the first actual contact visit much easier. Because of this, pre-visits usually happen during a regular session, so you can see our centre in action. We will then schedule your first official contact session.

Child Contact Sessions

What to expect at the session:

  1. Resident parents bring the child(ren) through the Eden Street entrance
  2. Non-resident parents arrive at the Union Street entrance
  3. Volunteers will welcome and take your child(ren) to the contact area (communal or private)
  4. Your family will spend time together in our well-equipped space
  5. Resident parents can spend time in Kingston, returning 10 minutes before the session ends. If we need you earlier, we will call you.
  6. At the session’s end, volunteers will take child(ren) back to the resident parent
  7. Parents leave at staggered times through separate exits

Feedback from our families

“I wanted to say thank you all very much for all the support you have provided us over the last few months it has been amazing getting to spend a little time together with my princess and it would not have happened without all of you so I can’t thank you all enough, the help you provide is appreciated beyond words to both parents and especially the kids who without you probably wouldn’t get the time to spend together so thank you so much. ”

Parent

“Please extend my thanks to your staff today and over the next few weeks. You’re all amazing. ”

Parent

 Frequently Asked Questions

About Our Services

Sessions typically last two hours and happen every two weeks.

Supported contact happens in a shared space with no direct volunteer involvement and no reporting. Supervised contact takes place in a private room with a volunteer observing and providing a report.

Yes, but we only offer supervised contact when it has been court-ordered.

Getting Started

You can email or contact us through the contact form here

To use the facility, both partners will need to complete a Resident Parent Form or Non-Resident Parent Form.

We’ll then be in touch within a week to arrange your pre-visit.

Yes and no. If communicating with your ex-partner is difficult, you can email us and we will email them on your behalf, explaining that you would like to use our services.
We find that many of these requests are successful, as we can reassure your ex-partner about the process and our focus on your child’s welfare.

No. Because of the shared space, anyone wanting supported contact will be accepted. For families needing a private space for supervised contact, we will let you know if the space is available, but we can only accept one family at a time.

During your visit

No, this is highly unlikely. You’ll have private handovers with separate entrances and waiting areas, so each parent should come and go without contact. It is, of course, possible you may see each other outside the centre on visit days. If this is a worry, we may be able to offer some tips to avoid confrontation.

We only stagger the leaving time. Non-resident parents remain behind for ten minutes, while resident parents must leave the centre promptly.

We suggest you bring a carrier bag of toys, books or crafts. This must not include electronic devices (of any kind), battery-operated toys, balls, no glue, runny paint, glitter or slime. Please also remember basic childcare items like nappies, formula, and perhaps a change of clothes.

No. For safeguarding reasons, we prohibit all electronic devices that could be used for filming or photography. This protects the privacy of other families and staff, and prevents potentially misleading images being created. Breaking this rule may result in immediate suspension of services.

Yes, we have a waiting area, and we can let you know after 10/15 minutes how the contact is going. You’re welcome to stay here, but the resident parent won’t be able to attend the contact session.

No. This is to make sure there’s a safe environment for everyone. We’ll provide snacks and drinks during the session. If you or your child have any special requirements, please discuss those with us first.

Looking Ahead

Sessions typically last two hours and happen every two weeks.

We plan for gradual transitions—perhaps moving from supervised to supported sessions, then arranging handovers outside the centre. Many families progress to unsupported community visits once trust and routine are established.

We’ll arrange meetings after a few months of regular attendance, and we can discuss then how you feel the sessions are progressing. Families can use the centre for up to 2 years.
We do review each case individually and will support a family beyond this point, if there really is no alternative way to arrange contact–for example, where a parent has challenging mental health issues or addictions.