Venue details
Address (not for correspondence):
179 High Street North,
Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU6 1JW
Opening hours
Days & Times: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 9am to 5pm Alternate Sundays 9am to 1pm
Centre charges
Details available on request
Services available here
Supported contact
Supervised contact
Handover
Supervised contact assessment
Indirect
Escorted contact
Life story identity contact
Accepts self referrals
Enhanced Accredited
Virtual Contact (Supported)
Virtual Contact (Supervised)
To make a referral,
contact:
Telephone: 01582 476202
Alternative: 07307 689016
Email: yf.services@hotmail.com
Contact
Website: https://www.instagram.com/yourfamilyservices/
Telephone: 01582 476202
Alternative: 07307 689016
Email: yf.services@hotmail.com
Notes from this centre
No disabled access
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: 25/10/2021
Summary:
Your Family Services is located close to the town centre above a shop and doesn’t have disability access. Access to the building is at the back of the shop, drop off can take place but parking is available in ASDA or the shopping centre car park. The centre has cameras and lights at the entrance, staff have walkie talkies so they can communicate with each other due to the distance from the door to the contact rooms.
There are bus services in the local area with bus links to the nearest train station at Luton. Drop off parking is available close by in the local shopping area. A well-equipped park is a few metres away, with the local leisure centre and bowling alley within easy walking distance.
The centre has staggered arrival and departure times as there is only one entrance into the centre. In an emergency they will be able to use entrance via the shop. The co-ordinator is aware that a good risk assessment will need to be carried out prior to offering a service to families.
The centre has one large room; all safety requirements are met in terms of the windows and stairs as this is a first-floor building. There are kitchen facilities for families to make drinks snacks etc. This space can be used for either supervised or supported contact. They have a couple of smaller rooms for supervised contact or to be used as a waiting room. Toilets and a further kitchen are also available on the first floor. The centre has a fire alarm system throughout the building.
The centre has a management committee which includes two foster carers, and the co-ordinator/manager is a qualified social worker. The centre was set to be well staffed with a mixture of paid staff and volunteers, however due to delays caused by covid (and at the time of the visit the centre not yet being open) further recruitment will be undertaken with the view that staff will be allocated to each family. The recruitment process is thorough and detailed meeting all NACCC requirements. New staff/volunteers will go through detailed induction training and their training will continue throughout the year. Supervision will take place every four weeks for full time staff/volunteers and every six weeks for part time staff/volunteers.
Policies and procedures have all been seen and meet the NACCC requirements. Live case files have not been checked as the centre was not open at the time of the visit and therefore the assessor observed a ‘dummy’ file and is confident they will meet the accreditation requirements. Information for referrers, parents and children are appropriate and risk assessments were thorough. Parents and children will be able to visit the centre for the pre-visit meeting prior to contact commencing. A detailed agreement will be drawn up for each parent, a template of which has been seen in the portfolio.
The centre is well equipped with games and toys. Furnishings are of a good quality and appropriate to help families feel comfortable while using the centre. The co-ordinator has shown commitment to offering a positive, safe, comfortable service to families in need. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 the accreditation process has taken some time. Despite these challenges the co-ordinator has maintained their commitment to opening the centre and offering the service which meets the criteria for enhanced (supervised) accreditation.
Photos from this centre
