TWO contact centres which provide support for children in the Isle of Man have achieved a major accreditation from the largest organisation of its type in Europe.
The Children’s Centre’s Supported Child Contact Centre (which is run as a charitable project) and the Supervised Child Contact Centre (which is run as a Government contracted service) have both been awarded ‘Enhanced Accreditation’ by the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC).
The NACCC is the supporting membership body for around 350 child contact centres and services located throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
Child contact centres and services are neutral places where children of separated families can enjoy contact with their non-resident parents, and sometimes other family members, in a comfortable and safe environment.
Accreditation assessors from the NACCC visited The Children’s Centre to measure its contact centre procedures and practises against a set of national standards.
John McKenzie, Head of Family and Community Services at The Children’s Centre, said, “The accreditation by NACCC is something we have been working towards for a number of years and are delighted that the hard work and commitment of the staff and volunteers in both centres has been recognised through the award.
“The support which we gain through our membership of NACCC, and the wider international body (CEPREP), the European Confederation of Child Contact Centres, enables us to provide an even more excellent service to children and families across the Island.”
Mr McKenzie added that the process of accreditation, while being hard work to make sure that high standards required by NACCC were met, enabled Contact Centres to benchmark services against provision elsewhere.
He added, “We were particularly pleased with the feedback that our centres would rank within the top echelons of contact centres in the UK, and that our level of provision was greater than the Netherlands. I am very proud of the teams who have achieved this award.”
