Creating Safe Spaces for Children Via Supervised Contact

“Peace is the beauty of life. It is sunshine. It is the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of a family. It is the advancement of man, the victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth. Peace is all of these and more and more.”

Springcare’s Family Support Centre is designed to be a transformative, inclusive, and easily accessible space for all families. Our centre has received Enhanced Accreditation from the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC), ensuring we meet national standards for safety, quality, and family-friendly environments.

• Newly refurbished spaces to provide a cosy, safe, and welcoming atmosphere. The centre is easily accessible to the public, including a 5-minute walk from Edmonton train station, a 1-minute walk from the nearest bus stop, and street parking is available. We are conveniently located near restaurants and a local shopping Center for added accessibility.
• We have a play area and relaxation area all equipped with necessary and carefully selected accessories for different age groups, including special needs and friendly options. We have a portable dining space, kitchen facilities and a mini shop with healthy snacks and essential items available for purchase.

The initial purpose of the family and the community was to give children a secure and caring environment. However, recurring problems in our families and communities, such as domestic violence, substance misuse, gang violence, child abuse and neglect, and the death of a family member, have rendered our families unsafe which significantly affects the mental and physical well-being of children.

We are also aware of the difficulties and complexities that families encounter. This includes persistent and damaging parent-child conflicts that are characterised by animosity, tension, or a failure to communicate clearly, all of which can make the home a challenging environment for children. In circumstances when children have been placed in foster care and have to go through a transition or reunification process to allow parents to gradually reintegrate into their children’s lives may offer a tough time for children.

We are dedicated to providing specialised help that meets the needs of families, especially those who are parents of children with autism or learning difficulties. We recognise that some families present with exceptional demands and children face a number of difficulties as a result of stress, worry, and abuse at home brought on by additional anxieties about money, food, warmth, and shelter.

The term “supervised contact” describes a planned arrangement in which interactions between parents, family members, and their children are closely monitored. A neutral third party, often a professional social worker, is in charge of the supervision and this practice is used in a variety of settings, mostly in the fields of child welfare and family law, to ensure that the child is safe and that the contact is in their best interests.

A neutral contact Centre serves as the setting for supervised contact. It can, however, also happen in the community. For instance, the contact supervisor, the parent, and the child might go to a restaurant or the park. The individual having contact will be informed beforehand of the duration of the contact session, which may also take place at the home of a foster parent or relative. It’s common for the person overseeing contact to take notes on what transpires. These documented observations can be used as evidence in court or for any other future reference, and they are frequently utilised to guide social work plans.

At Springcare Support Services, we understand the importance of maintaining family connections while ensuring children’s safety and well-being. That’s what we live for. That’s why we exist! To provide a secure, nurturing environment where all families can engage in supervised contact, receive support, and access vital resources.

There are many reasons why professionals such as social workers might think contact should be supervised. For starters, under supervised contact, a worker will always be present and normally supervised by a professional or, in certain situations, a family member. The main laws that support social work practice in the UK are the Children Act 1989 and the Children and Social Work Act 2017, which include the use of supervised contact, aiming to protect the child’s safety and wellbeing while strengthening ties with parents. For instance, if a parent struggles with drug or alcohol abuse, a social worker would worry about how they can securely raise a child on their own. To ensure that the time spent between a child and their loved one is beneficial to them, contact may be monitored. The social worker or the court must therefore ensure that the individual with contact does not do anything that could cause the child any harm or distress.

Fortunately, at Springcare, we provide different levels of supervised contact to ensure that children can spend time with their parents or family members in a structured, safe environment, with a diverse team of professional staff overseeing interactions. These entail; A trained and experienced staff member to observe and ensure safe, positive interactions between a child and their family member. As part of interprofessional collaboration, we work with different professionals such as lawyers, the police, medics, carers, emergency response teams, child protection services, among others to offer supported contact where need be.

We work with community services including recreational centers, social parks, day care centers, local canteens, to help facilitate child play and exercise for children under supervised contact while maintaining safe connections with family members. Our services are inclusive and pay keen attention to the special needs of some of the children under supervised contact for example the play centers we work with always offer sensory paly sessions specially designed for children with autism and sensory procession needs. To stay tuned to modern trends, we have a special team trained to integrate our services with technology such as safe video calls or messaging for families unable to meet in person which makes our supervised contact seamless.

At Springcare, we have witnessed the positive impact of supervised contact in helping families reconnect while ensuring child safety. However, to observe the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, examples have been kept private.

Our additional services for holistic care include; Parenting programs to provide guidance and support for caregivers, counselling and emotional support to help families navigate stress, trauma, and mental health challenges, advocacy and referrals to connect families to housing support, financial aid, and legal services and multi-agency collaboration where we work alongside schools, healthcare providers, and social services to ensure a well-coordinated approach to family and children well-being.

For families facing challenging situations, Springcare’s Family Support Centre is more than simply a location, it is a lifeline. We support families and children in preserving significant relationships while putting their safety and wellbeing first by providing professional supervised contact thus offering holistic family support, and community access.

Written by Rashidah Musoke