About the Family Mediation Council
a guide by Access Mediation Services based in Worcester, providing mediation across England, Wales and internationally
As a local firm, specialising in family mediation services in Bromsgrove, Redditch and across the county towns of Worcester and Hereford, we offer you this free guide about the Family Mediation Council:
The Family Mediation Council (FMC) is an umbrella organisation which oversees family mediation services in the UK. It is made up of five autonomous members, The College of Mediators, The Law Society, The Family Mediators’ Association, National Family Mediation, and Resolution, who work together in one unified body.
As a unified body, the council represents and informs the views of its professional members and practitioners, promotes the practice of family mediation in the UK, and employs its status to make relevant representations to government and other national interests.
Aims of the Family Mediation Council
The organisation aims to ensure best practice in family mediation across England and Wales, and to standardise professional practice; this ensures members of the public who access family mediation services can do so in the knowledge that they will receive mediation from qualified practitioners who meet the professional standards of the organisation.
The Family Mediation Council also aims to promote, develop and provide professional training, develop and promote research, whilst providing advice and information on all areas of family mediation.
Code of practice
As part of the Family Mediation Council’s commitment to ensuring high standards of family mediation, it has developed a Code of Practice for all its registered members. The Code of Practice can be found at www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk. The Family Mediation Council also provides guidance for online video mediation, which can also be accessed through their website.
All mediation practitioners registered with The Family Mediation Council are obliged to subscribe to this code of practice. The code details a set of aims and objectives for mediation, incorporating levels of expected professional conduct, qualifications and training that mediators must undertake; it also includes the scope and general principles of family mediation, covering issues such as neutrality, impartiality and the welfare of children.
Requirements of becoming a family mediator
1. You must attend an FMC-approved foundation training course – which develops the professional skills and practice of a mediator, enabling them to reflect upon and enter into the level of critical analysis and issue awareness required of every professional mediator
Professional development and supervision
Whilst initial professional training is vital to administering effective family mediation, so is continuing professional development (CPD) which reinforces, further develops and continues to update mediation skills and practice. All practitioners registered with The Family Mediation Council are required to undertake CPD to maintain the standard of being a regulated family mediator. The CPD will include compulsory training as set by the FMC and other training/activities which the mediator would need to justify benefits their practice to their PPC. Practitioners are also encouraged to undertake specialist training where it is felt this is required, for example if they are interested in developing a particular specialism within family mediation.
For more information about the Family Mediation Council, go to their website at www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk, or alternatively call on 0844 556 7215, or from a mobile 01920 443 834.
Contact: For more information about our family mediation services in Cheltenham or any Worcestershire town, email or call Access Mediation Services info@centreforresolution.co.uk 01905 330055.
