Child Contact Centre – 20th Anniversary

Skipton Child Contact Centre celebrates its 20th Anniversary!

Twenty years ago , Skipton Child Contact Centre was set up by members of Soroptimist International of Skipton in Craven as a form of community service. 20 years later, it is one of 403 Contact Centres across the country, under the parent body of NACCC – National Association of Child Contact Centres. On the first and third Saturdays of every month, volunteers welcome estranged parents to the centre, where the children can spend time with the parent they don’t live with, in safe and pleasant surroundings with lots of toys and games and, in the summer, a small garden to play in. The other parent can meanwhile drink tea or coffee and read magazines, or go out into Skipton, knowing that the child is being supervised by volunteers while playing with Mum or Dad. The centre, in the Soroptimist Rooms in Otley Street, can accommodate up to 6 children in any one session. The average length of time for the parents to use the centre is about 6 months, as it usually becomes possible for the child to see the other parent outside the centre. Sometime the child will only come for 1 or 2 sessions; sometimes for a year or more. Initial contact with the coordinator of the centre is through the parents’ solicitors and often follows court proceedings. Recently, this has become more difficult because of the huge cutbacks in Legal Aid, which across the country has meant fewer children being able to see the absent parent. At the Skipton Centre, however, families are still seeking to use the facilities, which are free of charge thanks to the free use of the Soroptimist Rooms.

Will the need still be there in another 20 years? Sadly, it looks increasingly likely, but meanwhile the volunteers are kept busy. A session on a sunny Saturday, using the little garden attached, watching children playing happily with the parent they can’t normally meet, is reward itself.

For further details, please write to:

Skipton Child Contact Centre, 28a Otley Street, Skipton, N Yorks, BD23 1EL