FamilyEngage UK is a leading provider of supervised and supported contact services delivered in the community in parks, leisure facilities, family hubs, and familiar local settings. We work alongside local authorities, CAFCASS, and legal professionals to ensure that children can maintain meaningful relationships with their families in safe, natural environments.
Keeping families connected where communities are
Community Contact done well
Research consistently shows that children benefit from contact in ordinary, normalising settings. Our model reflects this and reflects the direction of travel in children’s social care reform.
Aligned with national social care reform
The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care (2022), the government’s Stable Homes, Built on Love strategy (2023), and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act place a clear emphasis on supporting families in their own communities, reducing institutional dependency, and enabling children to maintain relationships in ordinary, everyday settings. FamilyEngage UK’s community-based model is built around these principles.
What Is Supervised Contact?
Supervised contact is a structured arrangement in which a child spends time with a parent or family member under the observation of a trained professional. It is typically ordered by a court or arranged through a local authority or legal agreement, usually in situations where there are concerns about a child’s safety or welfare during contact visits.
Common reasons supervised contact may be required include:
A history or allegation of domestic abuse
Concerns about a parent’s substance use or mental health
A lengthy period of separation between a child and a parent
Ongoing legal proceedings relating to the child’s care
The need to rebuild or establish a relationship safely
Our Approach
Natural settings
Contact takes place in parks, leisure centres, cafes, and community venues ,environments that are meaningful and familiar to the child.
Safeguarding-led practice
Every session is supervised by trained, DBS-checked practitioners with clear safeguarding protocols and detailed session recording.
LA and court-ready
Comprehensive contact notes and observation reports prepared to the standard required by local authorities and the family court.
Trauma-informed
Our practitioners are trained to support children and families with sensitivity, recognising the complexity of separated family relationships.
Where we Work
Family Engage UK has a national footprint but has deepened its presence in communities where the need for accessible, responsive, community-based contact support is greatest. Our practitioners are embedded locally, enabling timely referral responses and consistent, familiar contact experiences for children and families.
North West
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Greater Manchester
Includes Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, and Rochdale. We provide flexible community-based contact across this wide and diverse urban area, supporting both public and private law referrals.
Knowsley
Our Knowsley service provides locally accessible supervised and supported contact, helping children in this community to maintain important family relationships close to where they live.
Yorkshire & Humber
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Bradford
Across Bradford's diverse and geographically spread communities, our practitioners deliver contact in settings that are familiar and appropriate for each child and family.
Rotherham
We provide consistent, safeguarding-informed community contact in Rotherham, working closely with the local community to support children's welfare and family relationships.
Leeds
Providing flexible, community-based contact services to support both public and private law referrals across the city.
West Midlands
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Sandwell
FamilyEngage UK works with families in Sandwell to deliver supervised contact in welcoming community environments, in line with the local authority's family support agenda.
Birmingham
Working with families to deliver supervised contact in welcoming community environments, aligned with local family support agendas.
East of England
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Luton
Our Luton provision supports families with accessible, community-based contact arrangements that keep children connected to both parents and wider family networks.
Greater London
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London
Comprehensive coverage across all 32 London boroughs, ensuring children can maintain meaningful connections within their own urban communities.
South East
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Kent
Serving the "Gateway to England," Family Engage provides robust supervised contact across Kent. Our team manages high-demand caseloads with a focus on meticulous observation and professional reporting for local authorities.
Surrey
High-standard supervised contact in neutral settings, prioritising child safety through vigilant monitoring to meet the rigorous requirements of legal and social work professionals.
East Sussex
A secure environment for children to maintain family links. Our trained supervisors maintain constant contact to ensure safety is never compromised.
West Sussex
Expertly supervised contact focused on objective, evidence-based reporting. Our specialists manage complex family dynamics with professional neutrality.
Hampshire
Consistent supervised contact solutions covering safe handovers to detailed session logs — a seamless service for busy social work teams.
Berkshire
Supervised contact conducted with the highest level of professional oversight, creating a safe space where the child's welfare is the absolute priority.
Buckinghamshire
Secure supervised contact tailored to specific safeguarding needs, backed by comprehensive documentation for court proceedings.
Oxfordshire
Rigorous supervised contact overseen by experienced practitioners, with all interactions closely monitored to maintain a safe, protective environment for the child.
Reading
Timely, responsive community contact support for children and families referred by local authorities and legal professionals.
South West
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Bristol
Meticulous supervised contact in neutral, secure settings. Objective, detailed reporting required by courts and local authorities across Bristol's fast-paced urban environment.
Cornwall
Safe supervised contact for families across Cornwall regardless of location, with sessions in community venues or secure settings and rigorous monitoring to protect the child's wellbeing.
Devon
Specialist supervised contact with a focus on risk management. Our supervisors handle complex cases, ensuring every interaction is closely observed and documented with professional integrity.
Somerset
Flexible supervised contact using local community resources to create a safe but less clinical atmosphere, with staff maintaining constant visual and audible contact throughout.
Flexible and Responsive
We know that family life doesn’t follow office hours. Family Engage UK operates seven days a week to ensure that contact can take place at times that work for your family and are in the best interests of the child. We have a pool of experienced contact workers and can often accommodate requests at short notice.
Risk Assessment and Referral
Before any contact begins, we complete a thorough risk assessment and review of all relevant documentation. This ensures that we understand the family’s background and can put appropriate safeguards in place.
Contract Agreement
Prior to the commencement of contact, a contact agreement is drawn up with all adults involved. This document sets out dates, times, venues, expectations, and the consequences of non-compliance, missed sessions, or safeguarding concerns. Copies are provided to all relevant parties.
Contact Sessions
Our contact sessions are facilitated in community settings, contact venues, or other appropriate locations agreed with all parties. Sessions are overseen by trained contact workers who create a warm, child-friendly environment while maintaining close observation.
Reporting
Our contact sessions are facilitated in community settings, contact venues, or other appropriate locations agreed with all parties. Sessions are overseen by trained contact workers who create a warm, child-friendly environment while maintaining close observation.
Understanding Family Time Contact Reports
At Family Engage UK, we believe that transparency and clarity are the foundations of meaningful family time. Our contact reports serve as a professional, objective record of the moments shared between children and their families, ensuring that every session is documented with care and accuracy. These reports are more than just a log of events; they are vital tools used to support the long-term wellbeing of the child and inform future planning.
What’s Included in a Report?
Each report captures the essential details of the visit, providing a clear picture for all parties involved. Key components typically include:
Logistical Facts: The date, time, location, and those present during the session.
The Greeting & Departure: How the child and family transitioned into the session and their emotional state when saying goodbye.
Parental Engagement: Observations on how parents interact, play, and communicate with their children.
Meeting Needs: A focus on how well a child’s physical and emotional needs are met, from providing snacks to offering comfort.
Our Key Observations
Our trained supervisors look for positive indicators of connection and growth.
We focus on the parent’s ability to read and respond to their child’s cues and the quality of the bond displayed through shared activities.
By providing an honest and balanced account of these interactions, we help celebrate progress while ensuring the child’s safety and emotional security remain the top priority.z
We also document the parent’s ability to maintain a safe, age-appropriate environment and follow any specific contact agreements.
Analytical Contact
Summary Reports
At the conclusion of supervised contact, Family Engage UK offers clients an Analytical Contact Summary Report as an enhanced professional product.
Using recognised child welfare assessment frameworks, it provides an objective evaluation of parenting capacity, the extent to which children’s needs are being met, and the overall direction of progress over time.
This report is not a repetition of individual contact reports but a structured analysis that brings together evidence across sessions to identify patterns, strengths, areas for development and any emerging concerns.
The report supports transparency and informed decision‑making by helping parties understand not just what occurred during contact, but the significance of those observations in a wider professional context.
Safeguarding
Any safeguarding concerns identified during contact are responded to immediately and referred to the relevant local authority or statutory body without delay.
Flexible and Responsive
We know that family life doesn’t follow office hours. Family Engage UK operates seven days a week to ensure that contact can take place at times that work for your family and are in the best interests of the child. We have a pool of experienced contact workers and can often accommodate requests at short notice.
Welfare Visits and Parenting Support Service
Our professional team of independent social workers and support workers conduct welfare visits to ensure the safety and well-being of vulnerable individuals. We work closely with families, caregivers, and local authorities to provide detailed assessments and recommendations. We also do Statutory visits and EDT support services.
We offer practical parenting support and edge of care parenting service through family support workers and our network of independent social workers across all UK regions. Our parenting support services include tailored programs to empower parents with the skills and confidence to create a nurturing environment for their children.
What Our Families Say
I was terrified before my first supervised contact session. But the contact worker made my daughter feel so comfortable and me feel so supported. I can’t thank Family Engage UK enough.
— Father, Birmingham
Professional, thorough reports that clearly captured what happened during contact. Excellent service
— Solicitor, Family Law
Fees and Referrals
Supervised contact is charged at an hourly rate. This includes one written report per block of contact. Additional reports for other recipients are available at a supplementary fee.
We accept referrals from:
- Local authorities and children’s services teams
- Family courts and legal practitioners
- Independent social workers
- Parents and family members (self-referral)
Our Partners
