Supervised contact involves someone who is allocated to be present throughout the whole session and a written record is kept. This sometimes happens because information about the parent(s) in contact sessions is needed to inform court proceedings. Another reason for supervising contact is for the child’s safety and welfare. Children Looked after and care leavers in Leeds have told us they have differing views about the language that should be used to describe contact, depending on their wishes and feelings.
They thought that the options ‘Contact’, ‘Family Time’, ‘Contact with family’ and ‘Family time with birth family’ could all be used. They also thought that what was most important was that the child or young person was asked what term they would prefer to be used, as every child and young person’s situation is different and that normal language such as ‘spending time with’ should be used rather than describing a process.
