“I am impressed your professionalism, common sense and experience.. You do a very special job ensuring children are kept safe from harm”
Elizabeth (NACCC’s CEO) writes:
“22 years ago in 1994 Mary Lower won the Guardian Newspaper’s Charity Award. At that time there was a network of around 100 centres. There are now around 380 centres. There have been many changes since the award was granted. There has been the development of the National Standards (for both supported and supervised contact), the accreditation scheme, as well as a comprehensive training programme. Although some centres have found these innovations intrusive, there is no getting away from the fact that the government over the last 10 years has been very concerned and has expectations of those working with children that suitable and safe environments should be provided; that all workers are subject to rigorous checks given the sexual abuse scandals that have emerged; and that there should be training in the various aspects of the roles people take on, paid or voluntary.”
“NACCC staff and the team of accreditation assessors continue to support centres in achieving these expectations as much as possible…We’ve printed copies of our Supported National Standards to improve the accessibility of this vital information, we offer a free DBS checking service for each and every staff member and volunteer working in NACCC accredited child contact centres, we’ve developed our online Safe Referral System – which provides a free risk assessment for families applying to their centre and upgraded our Find a Centre web service – improving the accessibility of centre’s details online for parents. We have also improved the support provided for centres in dealing with complaints, providing training, advice, a sample policy and flow charts complete with actions and time scales.”
“So, in a climate of reduced funding we are trying to use our resources wisely to best serve you, the membership. Please do let us know any feedback you may have with regards to NACCC’s services. To reinforce my welcome message, I continue to be impressed by the professionalism of child contact centre staff and volunteers – you have a lot of common sense and experience and do a very special job in ensuring that children are kept safe from harm. Thank you.”
Elizabeth Coe, Chief Executive
