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Family mediator
Hours
30-40 per week
Starting salary
£20,000 + per year
Family mediators help divorcing or separating couples agree on things without having to go to court. If you are a great listener and communicator, this role could be perfect for you.
To do this job you should be able to relate to people from all backgrounds. You will need a fair and non-judgemental attitude. You will also need the ability to deal with people who may be upset and angry.
Whatever your background, you will need to have paid or voluntary experience of working with families. It would also be helpful to have experience in other types of conflict management.
WorkDesc
The work
As a family mediator you would help clients find ways of communicating with each other and discussing issues constructively. You would always be impartial, so you would not tell people what to do, or give counselling or legal advice. However you would provide factual information if required and could provide legal information if it helped people make an informed decision.
Your work would involve:
- meeting clients jointly or separately to explain the mediation process and decide on the issues to discuss
- holding further meetings until issues are resolved
- listening to each client’s feelings and concerns
- getting details about clients’ financial circumstances
- discussing issues like child residence and contact, property and money
- suggesting and discussing workable solutions
- helping clients to consider all options
- keeping discussions fair, equal and focused
- keeping accurate and confidential records of discussions
- summarising agreements in writing
- recognising when mediation is not working
- liaising with solicitors and courts when necessary.
In some jobs you may also talk to children, or use your skills to mediate in other family conflict situations.
HoursDesc
Hours
In many full-time jobs you would work standard office hours, although some services offer evening and Saturday morning appointments to clients. Part-time and sessional work is common.
You would be based in an office at a local family mediation service or solicitors’ practice, and see clients by appointment.
IncomeDesc
Income
Full time salaries are normally between £20,000 and £29,000 a year.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
EntryRequirementsDesc
Entry requirements
You could move into family mediation from a range of backgrounds, including law, social work, counselling, therapy or education. Law qualifications are not essential, although some family law solicitors and legal executives choose to train and practise as mediators.
Whatever your background, you will need to have paid or voluntary experience of working with families. It would also be helpful to have experience in other types of mediation or conflict management.
If you do not have a relevant professional background such as social work or law, you could get experience through voluntary work with families. This could be in settings like child contact centres, family support centres and some counselling services. The National Association of Child Contact Centres website has details of working with them as a volunteer.
Volunteering at a local community mediation service (helping to solve neighbour disputes) can also be useful experience, particularly for services that also offer opportunities for mediating in disputes between young people and their families.
To become a family mediator, you could either apply to a family mediation service for a trainee position, or fund your own training and find a placement with a service during or after your training.
To be accepted for family mediation training, you will normally need degree or diploma-level education, or substantial relevant work experience. As part of the selection process, you will need to show that you have the right personal qualities and skills to be a family mediator.
TrainingAndDevelopmentDesc
Training and development
To qualify as a family mediator, you will need to complete training that is run by or approved by one of the member organisations of the Family Mediation Council (FMC). The member organisations are:
- National Family Mediation
- Family Mediators’ Association
- ADR Group
- College of Mediators
- Resolution
- the Law Society.
Your training would involve a series of short courses spread over a few months, plus self-study and written assignments. You would cover subjects including conflict theory, mediation skills, family law and child welfare. You would also need to complete some supervised mediation.
Once you have completed foundation training, you can then work alongside another mediator or carry out private mediations. To be able to work alone with legal aid clients, you will need to be assessed as competent by the Legal Services Commission. On average it takes around two years from starting your foundation training to reach this stage.
You should keep your skills and knowledge up to date throughout your career. To remain a member of a recognised FMC organisation, you must take part in ten hours of continuing professional development (CPD) each year, and have regular supervision and support meetings with a mentor - known as a professional practice consultant (PPC).
See the FMC website for full details of training and CPD requirements.
SkillsAndKnowledgeDesc
Skills and knowledge
To be a family mediator, you should have:
- excellent communication and listening skills
- the ability to relate to people from all backgrounds
- empathy, tact and sensitivity
- an assertive manner, to keep discussions moving forward
- a fair, objective and non-judgemental attitude
- patience, commitment and enthusiasm
- the flexibility to work on your own, in pairs or as a group, as necessary
- creative thinking
- the ability to deal with people who may be upset, vulnerable, angry or distressed
- a good understanding of family law and the ability to apply theory to practice.
MoreInformationDesc
More information
Family Mediation Council 
PO Box 593
7 The Close
Exeter
EX1 9HG
www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk
Family Mediators Association
Grove House
Grove Road
Bristol
BS6 6UN
Tel: 0117 946 7062
www.thefma.co.uk
National Family Mediation
Margaret Jackson Centre
4 Barnfield Hill
Exeter
EX1 1SR
Tel: 01392 271610
www.nfm.org.uk
College of Mediators
Alexander House
Telephone Avenue
Bristol
BS1 4BS
Tel: 0117 904 7223
www.collegeofmediators.co.uk
ADR Group
www.adrgroup.co.uk
Resolution
www.resolution.org.uk
OpportunitiesDesc
Opportunities
You could be employed by local family mediation services, charities and other not-for-profit organisations, private mediation practices or firms of solicitors.
With experience you could set up your own mediation practice, train and supervise other mediators, or become a service manager. Alternatively, you could use mediation skills in a number of other careers such as housing, social work or advice work.
Vacancies may be advertised in the local press and on mediation organisations' websites. However, you may need to approach mediation services directly for training and work opportunities, as jobs may not always be advertised.
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
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Related industry information
Industry summary
Early years, children and young people’s services are represented by the Skills for Care and Development Sector Skills Council. This includes those working in early years, children and young people’s services, and those working in social work and social care for children and adults in the UK. The social care sector comprises two sub-sectors:
- Adult social care – with a workforce of nearly 1.5 million, accounting for 5% of England’s workforce, and 38,000 employers
- Children and young people – with an estimated workforce of 2.7 million
Early years, children and young people’s services provide publicly funded services accessed by between 1.5 and 2.5 million families per year, including early years education, childcare, children’s social care, family support, child protection, fostering and adoption services. There are more than 500,000 workers delivering these services in England.
[N.B. Following the change of Government on 11th May, all statutory guidance and legislation referred to here continues to reflect the current legal position unless indicated otherwise, but this document may not reflect Government policy.]
Key facts:
- The children and young people’s social care workforce includes:
- Over a quarter of a million people working within early years and childcare settings, with 165,200 employed in full day care and 58,300 workers in sessional day care
- An estimated 111,484 nannies
- An estimated 1,152 portage workers in England (who provide a home-visiting service for pre-school children who have developmental or learning difficulties, physical disabilities or other special needs)
- About 1,985 in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS)
- An estimated 7,500 residential childcare workers in children’s homes and 2,100 in care homes for disabled children
- 25,460 full-time equivalent social workers
- Approximately 37,000 foster families in England
- Approximately 14,000 learning mentors
- 2,247 educational psychologists
- Between 3,000 and 5,000 education welfare officers in England
- 65% of full day care provision is privately run, with 22% of settings run by a voluntary organisation.
- The majority of sessional care settings are run by voluntary organisations or are privately run.
The children and young people’s workforce includes a wide range of workers, jobs and professional occupations, including:
- Early years and childcare – Early years/nursery teachers; Nursery nurses/workers; Portage workers; Nannies; Home Child carers; Heads of children’s centres; Volunteers in childcare settings
- Children and young people’s social care – children and family court advisory and support service officers, foster carers, residential childcare workers, children and family social workers
- Learning, development and support services (LDSS) – learning mentors, educational psychologists, education welfare officers, behaviour and education support teams, family support workers
National and regional data
[N.B. National and regional data are currently unavailable.]
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