Advice on managing very distressing contact handover

[FlyingFleetwood]

DD is 6. She's subject to an EOW court ordered contact arrangement with her father which recently became overnight contact.

DD has had several overnights now and with each one the handover becomes more and more distressing. She screams and cries and kicks and has now threatened to physically harm herself if sent for overnight contact. From some of DDs feedback it appears her father is going some length to emotionally abuse her and he also speaks highly negatively of me to her. DD has also recently met with her children's guardian and expressed how much she dislikes overnight contact and given her reasons why.

I am continuing to make her available for contact and use a third party to deliver the pick up handovers. Unfortunately, the last contact weekend handover resulted in DD running away from the third party, running away from her father. Clinging onto me. Screaming, kicking and crying and begging me not to send her. After she made a threat to hurt herself I decided to offer her father day contact instead. Her father is not understanding in the slightest and does absolutely nothing to comfort or reassure her. Instead he is trying to coerce from her that I am alienating him.

I have recently submitted an application back to the court to vary the contact arrangements and will continue to adhere to the current order. We have another overnight coming up and DD is so upset about it. She is not the kind of kid who I need to force to go anywhere, she loves school, seeing friends and family and is otherwise very happy going anywhere. She's a good kid who I do not need to raise my voice to or battle with. She's told me some very worrying things that have taken place during her overnight weekends and it's all contributing to her rejection of overnights. She says she cries and cries all night long.

I have a third party attending the next handover with us but I don't know what to do. Do I hand DD over in this heightened distressed state or ask her father to come and get her which will escalate her distress much further? Unfortunately, school handover is not an option as DD cried her eyes out when her father last attended school and I was asked by staff if he should be asked to leave the premises. I know her teachers are very concerned about her too.

Please can anyone who has been through similar advice? My solicitor is on leave now as is DDs children's guardian. I've called cafcass for advice on the handover but yet to hear back.

What happens if you're not there ? If the third party takes her to the handover themselves ?
I think that's what you need to try next.

We've tried that too, the second overnight DD was taken by my friend and she was kicking and screaming and crying, it's beyond what you'd call normal distress.

@FlyingFleetwood have you posted about this before? Situation seems similar to one posted last month, similar situation and very distressing to child and mother.

You've put in another court application, the school are concerned, everyone is on holiday over the summer, you've asked CAFCASS for help, there's not much more that you can do.
Given what your daughter has said, I'd be contacting the police re the abuse , and the GP re DDs threats to harm herself. Get it all documented, get the third parties who witnessed DDs refusal to go and the trauma she is clearly suffering to make statements, and don't hand her over until you've had the opportunity to get further advice.
However,I can tell you that the police won't take it seriously unless DD tells them herself what has happened and why she is scared to go with her father. You mustn't rehearse it with her, either.
You could offer supervised contact in the interim, if there is someone prepared to do that, and if the father refuses, that can be recorded.
Might it be worth contacting the court to ask if they can do an expedited interim hearing?