Our centres are accredited by the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC)* and are independent from the courts, social services or any statutory agency.

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We currently have 10 supported contact centres based in Gainsborough, Grantham, Lincoln, Skegness, Spalding, Nottingham, Peterborough, Retford, Newark and Leicester. We also have 5 supervised contact centres based in Lincoln, Nottingham, Newark, Peterborough and Leicester.  

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View our Contact Services Leaflet here (up to date as of August 2025) for an overview, or read the rest of this page for more information about our contact services.

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Supported Child Contact Centres

Supported child contact centres are suitable for families where no significant risk to the child has been identified but the parents no longer wish to see each other and cannot agree on other arrangements. The contact centre is intended to be a temporary measure to help build confidence and help the family move forward.

 

They are run by dedicated teams of staff and volunteers who are impartial and see the children as the most important people in the centre. All our centres have a range of age-appropriate toys, games and activities and we aim to provide a warm and friendly atmosphere.

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There may be more than 1 family at the centre at any one time and so a worker may not always be in sight and sound of the children.  No written observations are made.

 

Staggered arrival and departure times are set so neither parent has to meet each other when attending the centre.

 

There is a £155 fee for this service which covers contact for up to 6 months, as needed.  A £30 non-refundable administration fee is due on referral with the balance being requested once a place becomes available at your chosen centre and must be made prior to contact starting.

 

Some of our contract centres operate waiting lists, we will require a completed referral form in order to secure a space on the list.  A list of 2025 dates are available here.

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Click here to fill in a supported referral form and return to contactcentres@childrenslinks.org.uk.

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Supervised Child Contact Centres

Supervised child contact centres are suitable for families where there may be a risk to the child, where a professional requires a report to determine future arrangements or where contact needs to be observed to ensure a parent can take care of the child's need.  A trained supervisor will observe the contact and provide a contact record/report where specified.  As with our supported centres, staff remain impartial and are child focused.  

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Staggered arrival and departure times are set so neither parent has to meet each other when attending the centre.

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There is a one-off processing fee for this service which starts at £130.  A £30 non-refundable administration fee may be due on referral with the balance due once the suitability assessment has taken place and there is a space available.

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Contact sessions start at £95 per hour and fees must be paid prior to the session.  If a session is cancelled a cancellation fee will be payable by the parent cancelling the session, equal to the charge for the session cancelled.

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Session dates and times will be provisionally booked on receipt of the referral form and confirmed prior to a pre-visit meeting. 

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Click here to fill in a supervised referral form and return to contactcentres@childrenslinks.org.uk.

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Handover Contact Services

Handover contact services offer a safe arrangement for children to meet with their non-resident parent/family member when unsupervised contact is appropriate but the parents do not wish to meet. No written observations are provided.

 

There is a £55 referral fee for this service, payable when submitting a referral form. Each handover session is £16 and payment must be paid before Children's Links will accept any bookings.

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Please note that handover is a supervised centre service, and is not available at all of our supervised centres.

 

Indirect/Letterbox Contact

Indirect/Letterbox contact is a way of a parent keeping in touch with children without meeting the child.  in practice it is a means of passing on items between a parent and child when both parties addresses are confidential. Examples of indirect contact include sending letters, emails, photos, and gifts.

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Items received are checked and read to ensure they are appropriate before being sent on.  A log is kept of any items received and sent on.

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There is a £30 referral fee for this service, payable when submitting a referral form.  On receipt of a completed form and payment, staff will contact you to complete a schedule for indirect contact.  Passing on standard letters and cards will be sent by Royal Mail 1st Class post.  Heavier/valuable items will be sent by Royal Mail 1st Class Registered Delivery or ParcelForce with a signature.  The is a fee of £15 per item to be paid in advance of items being forwarded.  Please note items must be able to fit through a standard letterbox.

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To receive a referral pack for Handover or Indirect/Letter contact services, please contact us at contactcentres@childrenslinks.org.uk.

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*NACCC provide a useful document containing links for professionals, parents and children, please click here to view the document.

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The judicial protocol was updated in November 2023.  This document is a useful read for anyone going through family courts or working to support families.  It provides information on what to expect from a contact centre and will manage the expectations of what services a centre can deliver.  The most recent document can be found here.

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