SACCC, Sheffield


	St. Andrew's Child Contact Centre (SACCC) provides a neutral place where for a few hours every fortnight, children and non-resident family members can talk and play together in a friendly, safe, impartial, confidential,and supportive environment. Families usually come to us when there has been a breakdown in communication between parents following separation and where there is no suitable or agreed venue available to them.

Background Information

St. Andrew's Child Contact Centre, Sheffield is a registered charity, registration number 1050882. Along with more than 280 other centres, it is affiliated to the National Association of Child Contact Centres. Its Certificate of Accreditation is displayed under "Accreditiation and Contacts", press "Contact us" button, above, to view.

SACCC policies are available on request from the Coordinator. These include: Child Protection Policy, Critical Incidents Policy, Domestic Abuse and Conflict Management Policy, Risk Assessment, Equal Opportunities Policy, Volunteer Policy, Confidentiality Policy and Comments and Complaints Procedure.

SACCC thanks Agreeable Notion Limited who facilitated, and the volunteers from the University of Sheffield who implemented, the graphical design of this website. SACCC is grateful also to "Just-do-it" for its funding assistance in respect of the students' work, and to Agreeable Notion Ltd for their Training given in the technical processes of the website, and for their ongoing support on the site's management.

Definition of 'Supported' Contact

SACCC is a 'supported' contact centre. This means that it takes place in a neutral community venue, where there are facilities to enable children to develop and maintain positive relationships with non-resident parents and other family members. Supported Child Contact Centres are suitable for families when there is no significant risk to the children or those around them.
The basic elements of supported contact:

Impartiality
Staff and volunteers are available for assistance but there is no close observation, monitoring or evaluation of individual contacts/conversations.
Several families are usually together in one or a number of rooms.
Encouragement for families to develop mutual trust and consider more satisfactory family venues.
Apart from attendance dates and times, no detailed report will be made to a referrer: CAFCASS officer, solicitor or court, unless risk of harm becomes apparent to the child, parent or centre worker.
An acknowledgement that the arrangement has a limited duration, and will be reviewed after an agreed period of time.