Venue details
Address (not for correspondence):
Sage Cross Methodist Church, Sage Cross Street,
Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE13 1QT
Opening hours
Days & Times: Saturdays weekly 2pm to 4pm
Centre charges
No charge for service
Services available here
Supported contact
Handover
Accepts self referrals
Accredited
To make a referral,
contact:
Address: The Samworth Centre, 8 Burton Street, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE13 1XD
Telephone: 07522 297102
Alternative: 07522 297102
Contact
Website: www.melton-mowbray-child-contact-centre.org
Telephone: 07522 297102
Alternative: 07522 297102
This centre is accredited to provide supported 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 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.
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: 20/05/2022
Summary:
Melton Mowbray Child Contact Centre is run from Sage Cross Methodist Church, close to the town centre with parking and public transport close by. The church permits the centre to use their facilities however is not involved in the running of the centre.
The centre has one entrance and exit with a reception area at the entrance along with a waiting room available. The centre uses one large room upstairs for contact and is well equipped with games, toys and craft activities. A lift is available to enable easy access. The area is very clean and is laid out with chairs, mats and tables so that each family has their own space and toys to play with. An adjoining kitchen with a hatch is used to serve drinks and snacks but at the time of the report was not in use due to Covid. Toilets are available by the contact room and downstairs (one with disabled access and baby changing facilities).
Referrers are informed that preparation for contact visits will need to happen prior to contact commencing, and an appointment is arranged at that point. The pre visit checklist is completed, the rules of the centre are covered, and parents are given leaflets welcoming them to the centre and an opportunity to discuss any concerns. The date for first contact is agreed and the subsequent pattern of visits. The children are given an information leaflet (if they are old enough), and the opportunity to look round the centre, meet the volunteers on duty and play with the toys. They are encouraged to ask any questions and asked if they have any worries. Links are provided to the NACCC videos about contact centres.
During Covid the centre opened in a limited way only having one family at a time and families were encouraged to bring their own toys. At the time of the report the centre was still being cautious and restricting the number of families in the centre at any one time. Families were using different areas and only give one hour of contact to enable more families to have time together.
The centre is well organised and managed by the co-ordinator who receives support from the team leaders and the chair of the committee. The co-ordinator has been in post since April 2018; they are clearly committed to the running of the centre and were creative in trying to offer contact during Covid. They are very clear on risk assessment and what the centre can offer to families and will signpost referrals to more appropriate centres if they are not suitable for the centre. Due to Covid the centre had lost a few volunteers however a recent recruitment drive meant they potentially had eight new volunteers. The centre has six team leaders who take responsibility for training and mentoring new volunteers.
The centre is working to NACCC’s standards for supported contact and is offering a safe service to families.
Photos from this centre
