Venue details
Address (not for correspondence):
United Reformed Church, Eden Street,
Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 1HZ
Opening hours
Days & Times: Sundays fortnightly (except some bank holidays) 2pm to 4pm
Centre charges
Please refer to our website for update on fees & policies.
Services available here
Supported contact
Supervised contact
Handover
Accepts self referrals
Enhanced Accredited
To make a referral,
contact:
Address: United Reformed Church, , Eden Street, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 1HZ
Contact
Description
Our Contact Centre provides a neutral and safe venue for contact between children and visiting parents. There is a large play area equipped with a variety of toys, crafts and games. Kingston Child Contact Centre is run by trained, unpaid co-ordinators and volunteers who are impartial. They have all been through an enhanced check by the Disclosure and Barring service and attend annual training. The centre is run by the Admin Team and coordinators. We are based in the heart of Kingston upon Thames, at the United Reformed Church which is approximately an 8 minute walk from Kingston railway station, 3 minutes from main bus stops and a few minutes from the many surrounding car parks.
Notes from this centre
This centre is accredited to provide supervised contact
Accreditation is a way of checking that your contact centre is safe and meets our standards.
How is a centre checked?
An assessorSomeone working on our behalf who has experience and an interest in child contact services and must assess if a service meets our standards. looks round the centre’s rooms, toys, equipment, and any outside play areas to make sure that they are safe and good for you to use. They talk with the people at the centre to make sure that they are trained and helped to do their job as well as possible. They then check the informationThe assessor checks through the centre’s accreditation portfolio which includes policies, procedures, risk assessments, reports (if the service offers supervised contact) and information for families. on what happens at the centre and how it keeps you safe. If your family time happens in the community The service might use local community venues to deliver their service or in some cases, residential properties including family members’ homes, where this is safe and appropriate., then the assessor will check that this is going to be safe for you.
When the assessor is happy that a centre meets our standards then they are awarded their accreditation and you can find them on this website. Accreditation happens every three years with extra checks if needed.
Accreditation Summary
Date: 20/09/2021
Summary:
Kingston Child Contact Centre has been operating as supported centre since 2012 and during 2020/21 has been working towards becoming an enhanced accredited service. The service endeavours to work with the parent/s so that they can also leave contact feeling they have been given the resources to enhance the quality time they spend with their child/ren. They are based in the heart of Kingston town centre operating from Kingston United Reformed Church in the pedestrian area. The train station is a 15-minute walk away and the bus terminus is 5-minutes’ walk. There is a carpark next to the centre. The centre has an excellent website where all the necessary information and referral forms can be downloaded along with the centre’s policies. The centre can facilitate both private and local authority referrals.
The supported service is run from large hall on the ground floor and the supervised service operates at the same time using the first floor which has three good size rooms suitable for supervised contact sessions. Access to the rooms can be via stairs or the lift. There is a kitchen for use if required along with separate toilets. The centre is in an excellent decorative order with secure entrances and exits. Rules and regulations of the centre are stated clearly on entry to the building and at the time of the report although face coverings are not mandatory they are advised. There are hand sanitisers in the corridors and all rooms with a good range of equipment available for families to use but under the current climate (Covid 19) families choose to bring their own toys. Toys are available for use and are cleaned after the clients have let their contact session.
The centre is in the process of working towards its charity status. Their main funding comes through contact service charges supplemented by a grant and donations. The majority of the volunteers have the relevant qualifications and experience to supervise the new service of supervised contact sessions. The manager ensures that families are allocated with two named volunteer contact supervisors for consistency.
The co-ordinator and the team are highly motivated, enthusiastic, committed, and always willing to learn. Their personal strengths include determination; attention to detail and a desire to make a real contribution to families who attend the centre. It is clear from discussions that clear communication is of the upmost importance and group and individual supervisions are imperative to ensure the smooth running of the centre. The centre provides an excellent quality service for their users and volunteer contact workers.
Photos from this centre
