Contact Services
Safe, welcoming spaces where children can build or maintain meaningful relationships with parents and family members. Our trained staff provide support for parents and children throughout the process.
What are Contact Services?
Child Contact Centres play a crucial role in helping children affected by family breakdown maintain relationships with the non-resident parent or wider family members. They provide a safe, friendly, and neutral environment where children can meet with trained staff offering support.
These centres act as a stepping stone towards establishing more permanent contact arrangements. We offer a range of contact services in Inverness and Wick, designed to meet the unique needs of each family.
Safe Environment
Child-Focused
Trained Staff
In-Person Contact Services
Our in-person services take place at our contact centre in Inverness and Wick.
Supported Handover
The Contact Centre facilitates drop-off and pick-up of children for out-of-centre contact. Trained staff oversee the handover without parents meeting. Attendance records can be provided upon request.
Supported Contact
Children are dropped off at the contact centre, where a member of staff will accompany them to one of our playrooms to spend time with their parent. The emphasis is on engaging in quality play together and a wide variety of toys, games, and art and craft materials are available for use. Staff will be close by for any support required and will pop in now and again to each playroom to check if anything is needed.
Supervised Contact
Children are able to spend time with their parent with a trained supervisor in the room with them at all times. A factual, observational report is written for each contact session and will be made available to all parties. Resident parents are welcome to stay in an allocated waiting room, or if the child is settled, can pop out of the centre and return to collect their child at the end of the session.
Familiarisation Visits
All children are offered a familiarisation visit to meet staff and look round the centre prior to their first contact visit.
Video Contact Services
When in-person contact isn’t possible, we offer various video contact options.
Supervised Video Contact
The resident parent brings the child to the centre and staff facilitate the contact. Staff remain with the child throughout and assist with supporting the contact. Sessions are usually up to 1 hour.
Supported Video Contact
The resident parent brings the child to the centre. This tends to be for older children, where there is an established relationship and little support is needed. Staff would pop into the room periodically to ensure that it is going well. The only report available is an attendance record.
Observed Zoom Contact Sessions
Facilitated remotely for 15 minutes, extendable to a maximum of 60 minutes. Children must be a minimum of 5 years old, able to safely be in a room on their own, and manage the session independently. Two staff members facilitate the contact from different broadband lines. The contact parent enters the virtual waiting room 15 minutes prior to ensure all equipment is working. Staff observe the contact and intervene as needed. This is most effective when there is an established relationship with the child and contact parent.
E-contact Services
Supported E-contact
Pre-recorded videos, photos and messages are shared between parent and child with the assistance of their resident parent. For younger children, resident parents can send regular updates, and for older children can include a response from the child themselves. Staff monitor all correspondence and contact details are not shared between the parties.
Supervised E-contact
Children are accompanied to the contact centre where a member of staff will engage them in play whilst also sharing the correspondence from their non-resident parent. Reports of these contacts are written by a trained supervisor and shared with all parties.
Who Are the Staff?
Our staff are trained professionals with expertise in separation and divorce. They adhere to the high standards set out in the Relationships Scotland Code of Professional Practice and the Child Contact Centre Quality Assurance Framework. Staff also undergo continuous professional development and supervision.
Who Can Use Our Services?
Our services are open to any family where the child/children are resident in the Highlands. Many of our services are available free of charge.
Getting Started
Parents can contact us directly or seek referral through professionals like solicitors or social workers. Pre-contact appointments are arranged separately for parents to discuss arrangements. These appointments last about 1 hour and can be conducted via phone or at our Inverness office.
Our centres are designed to feel welcoming and child-friendly, with toys, games, and activities available. We aim to create an environment where children can relax and enjoy spending time with their family member.
Sessions can be arranged on a regular basis to help establish routine and stability for your child. As circumstances change, we can adjust the level of support to work towards more independent contact arrangements.