Contact Centre – Exeter

From our dedicated contact centre in Exeter, we provide professionally supervised family contact sessions in a safe, welcoming and child-focused environment, where children and their family members can spend meaningful time together whilst ensuring appropriate safeguarding and oversight.

We understand that family time can be an emotional and significant experience for everyone involved. Children may be maintaining important relationships during care proceedings, rebuilding trust following periods of separation, or developing positive connections with family members. Our approach is therefore grounded in trauma-informed practice, recognising the importance of relationships, attachment, emotional safety and dignity.

Our Exeter contact centre has three dedicated family contact rooms designed to provide a comfortable, homely and low-pressure environment for children and their families. We aim to create spaces that feel relaxed and supportive, allowing interactions to take place as naturally as possible while maintaining appropriate safeguards.

Depending on the requirements of the care plan, risk assessment or local authority instructions, family time can be supervised in two ways:

Direct Supervision - where a member of staff is present within the room to observe and support the session.

Monitoring Room Supervision - where staff supervise from a separate monitoring room using a one-way observation window and audio monitoring equipment.

This approach allows us to provide the least intrusive level of supervision possible whilst ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all those attending. For many children and families, this creates a more natural environment where relationships can develop and interactions can be observed without the presence of staff directly within the room.

Our experienced practitioners are trained to observe interactions objectively and sensitively, focusing on the child's wellbeing, engagement, communication and relationships. We recognise that children may communicate their feelings and experiences in different ways and our observations are always informed by an understanding of the child's individual needs, communication style and life experiences.

Following each session, a comprehensive Family Time Reflection Log is completed. These reports provide a clear, factual and balanced account of the contact session, including:

Above all, the Exeter contact centre is about giving children the best possible experience of family time — one where relationships can be maintained, positive memories built, and everyone involved feels safe and respected. Through professional supervision, high-quality reporting and a child-centred approach, we help ensure family time stays focused on the needs and best interests of the child.