How a family-time (contact) review works

A chance to reset 

A family-time (contact) review involves an experienced member of our support team. They look at your current arrangements for family-time and find ways to create a more positive experience for everyone.

The service is free to all guardians, children and parents, and can be requested at any time. A review can be a useful way to resolve emerging or ongoing family-time issues.

A review could be useful if you:

• struggle to agree on plans for contact time with family

• are concerned about the quality of family-time

• worry family time is having or will have a negative impact on the child

• find it hard to plan family time or put your plans into practice

• feel stressed about the prospect of family time.

How a review works

Your family-time review is tailored to your situation, but will usually involve members of our support team:

• talking to everyone involved on a one-to-one basis to get their perspective and suggestions

• jointly creating a new plan for family-time sessions

• putting the plan into practice and observing the effect

• creating a family-time agreement for all parties to sign up to.

For the review to work, the process needs the consent of everyone involved. That includes the child if they are old enough and able to express how they feel.

Our team can act as an impartial mediator if there is tension or disagreement. We are experienced in providing proven ideas and practical suggestions to make family time positive for everyone.

Asking for a review

Any guardian can ask for a review at any time by contacting our support team. Before getting in touch, make a note of the key reasons you want a review, so you can talk about them with our team.

It is also useful to have the names and contact details of family members who will need to be involved, so we can get in touch with them. We will give you an idea of how long it may be before your review will start. 

You can have multiple family-time reviews over the course of your guardianship. They help you make sure it stays as positive experience as possible as the child gets older or if significant changes happen.