Supervised contact is time between a child and a parent, or another relative, with a neutral professional present throughout who keeps the child safe and writes a record of what happened. I offer private supervised contact in the community across the North East of England, including weekends, with a written record of every session by the next working day.
Most parents who ring me about this did not expect to be here. The court has said contact must be supervised, or the other parent will only agree to it that way, and the local contact centre has a waiting list, is only open on alternate Saturdays, or is simply the wrong place for a teenager. They want to see their child, they want it done properly, and they want a record the court will take seriously.
I am an independent social worker, registered with Social Work England. Most of my work is writing assessments for the Family Court, which includes observing parents and children together and giving evidence about what I saw. Supervising contact uses exactly that skill. I am not on either parent's side. I am there for the child, and the record I write is the same whoever is paying for it.
Who this is for
Parents with a court order for supervised contact who need a supervisor the court and the other parent can accept, at times a contact centre cannot offer.
Parents who have agreed supervised contact between themselves, often as a first step after a long gap or while the court is still deciding the case, and who want someone neutral to make it work.
Parents who live a long way from their child and travel to the North East for contact, who need a supervisor who knows the area and can suggest somewhere suitable.
Solicitors and local authorities who need contact supervised and recorded to a standard that will stand up in court, or a run of sessions observed as part of an assessment.
What I do
Before the first session.
I read the court order, so that I know exactly what it allows. I speak to each parent separately about the child, the worries, and what would make the time go well. We agree the ground rules in writing: where and when, who brings and collects the child, what can and cannot be talked about, photographs, presents, and what happens if the child wants to stop. Parents do not need to meet each other at any point. Handovers are arranged so that they do not.
During the session.
I stay within sight and sound the whole time. I keep in the background as far as I can, because the time belongs to the parent and the child, not to me. I step in only if I need to: if a child is upset, if a conversation is going somewhere it should not, or if a ground rule is forgotten. Most sessions need nothing from me except being there.
After the session.
I write a full record the same day: how the child arrived and left, what the two of them did, what was said that matters, how the parent responded to the child, and anything I had to step in on. It is factual and it is balanced. It records what went well with the same care as what did not. You receive it by the next working day, and where the order or the agreement between the parents says so, the other parent receives the same record.
If the court wants more.
After a run of sessions I can write an overall report that draws the records together: the quality of the relationship, how the parent has responded to guidance, how the child has been before and after, and what I would recommend about the next stage, whether that is continuing as things are, moving to supported contact, or moving on from supervision altogether. I can attend court to answer questions if I am asked to. Both are quoted for separately, and only if they are wanted.
Tell me what the order says and where your child lives, and I will tell you honestly whether I can help, what it would cost, and when I could start.
Get in touch →Where contact can take place
I am based between Newcastle and Durham and supervise contact across Tyneside, Wearside, County Durham, Northumberland and Teesside. Good venues are ones where a parent and child can actually do something together and where I can stay close without hovering: parks and play areas in the lighter months, and soft play, bowling, cinemas, museums, cafes and shopping centres in the winter. For older children, somewhere to eat and something to do usually works far better than a room with toys in it. I will suggest venues near where your child lives once I know the area.
What I do not do
I do not take sides, and I do not write notes to order. If you are paying for the sessions you are paying for an honest record, and that is what gives it its value. I do not supervise contact that the other parent has not agreed to or the court has not ordered. I am not a contact centre and I do not run drop-in sessions. Every arrangement is set up individually and agreed in writing first. If the concerns in a case mean that contact in the community would not be safe, I will say so, and I will point you towards a supervised contact centre accredited by the National Association of Child Contact Centres instead.
Fees
My rate is £42 an hour, the same rate I charge for court work, with travel time at £28 an hour and 55p a mile. Sundays are charged at double the hourly rate. Each session is billed as the time spent with you and your child plus one hour for writing the record, so a two hour session is three hours of work. From Monday to Saturday that is £126 plus travel. On a Sunday it is £252 plus travel. VAT is added at the current rate. You will have the full figure for your sessions in writing before anything is booked. The full rate card sets out every figure.
Getting in touch
Send me a message, email vince@socialworkassessment.com or call 0191 716 5069. It helps to know what the court order says about contact, roughly where your child lives, how old they are, and the days and times you are hoping for.