Every month, we will be sharing all the exciting things occurring within the FMA. This is the best place to find out what is happening in the FMA community, and a great opportunity for us to share relevant information and connect with our FMA members.
We hope you enjoy!
We are delighted to announce that the FMA’s 2026 Conference ‘AI – Authentic Intelligence for Family Mediators and for Children and Families in Conflict’ will take place on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th April 2026 at the Mercure Hotel, Northampton.
This is NOT a conference about Artificial Intelligence!
Through group work, authoritative presentations, and workshops, our ambition will be to:
We are excited to announce that our new Vice President, Professor Bryan Clark, will deliver the 2026 John Cornwell Lecture on ‘Authenticity in Mediation’, raising questions and stimulating our conversations and debate.
Register Here: FMA Annual Conference – The Family Mediators Association
The Family Mediators Association is delighted to announce that Professor Bryan Clark has accepted our invitation to serve as a Vice President of the Association.
Bryan is Professor of Law and Civil Justice at Lancaster University, and his scholarship, research interests and contribution to the field align closely with our aims.
As Vice President, Bryan will take on an honorary ambassadorial role, lending his expertise and support to FMA’s ongoing work to promote the highest standards of family mediation, support practitioners, and champion child-focused, holistic practice.
We are honoured to have Bryan’s voice and expertise associated with FMA in this way.
Anna Vollans
As many of you will know, the House of Commons Justice Committee is currently conducting an Inquiry into Access to Justice. The FMC was recently invited to meet with Andy Slaughter MP, Chair of the Justice Select Committee, where Anna Vollans (FMA Co-Chair and member of the FMC Legal Aid & Voucher Working Group) was able to discuss the increasingly fragile position of Legal Aid for family mediation. We were pleased to see that, following this meeting, Andy Slaughter wrote to the Family Justice Minister, Baroness Levitt KC, outlining concerns about the sustainability of family mediation, particularly the pressures on Legal Aid funding. The FMC is now scheduled to meet with Baroness Levitt later this month.
In the meantime, Anna Vollans and Claire Webb are coordinating a joint letter from the remaining 86 Legal Aid providers to the Ministry of Justice, highlighting the urgency of the situation. If you are a Legal Aid provider and have not yet been contacted, please get in touch with Anna (anna@vollansmediation.co.uk) or Claire (claire@familysolutionsnow.co.uk).
Pathfinder Courts have been piloted in some areas for three years now, but the roll-out is increasing, and there is now a likelihood there will be a national roll-out. Both the President of the Family Division and the Government clearly see this is the way forward – to clear backlogs, provide safety for those who are abused, and to put children first.
Where does mediation fit into this development? Theoretically, the transformation of the justice system from targets-driven adversarial litigation into collaborative problem-solving should provide the ideal framework for mediation. Yet an absence of resources threatens the whole child-centred process, whether it is Legal Aid for CiM, proper funding of CAFCASS’ engagement at Child Impact stage, or effective resourcing of the Court and out-of-Court processes.
Anecdotally, messages from the pilots are mixed; whereas fiercer gatekeeping is providing the increase in mediation referrals that was intended by the tightening of the C100/ Miams process, a determination to move cases swiftly to their conclusion seems to be undermining the encouragement to mediation intended by the Part 3 Rule Changes.
Whilst the process is still under review, FMA is aware that this is a crucial time to take the opportunity to influence the potentially game-changing impact on children and parents of the Pathfinder roll-out, and this is something the Standards Group will be working on at a number of levels.
Can those of you with Pathfinder in your area help us by letting us have any experiences you have so far of the pilots and their impact on mediation, and of any attempts you may have made to engage with those running the pilots? We’d be most grateful if you could send any brief reflections to info@forgiving-black-bear.45-157-41-64.cpanel.site
Standards and Documents Committee
For anyone with any opinions on working with children in mediation, I want to recommend contacting Abbas Al Abbas to find out more about his doctoral study into child-inclusive mediators’ experiences of working with children.
I met with him this month for an interview – it was a real pleasure and as well as giving me the chance to talk on one of my favourite topics, the project has the very practical ultimate goal of developing specific tools and ideas to help more mediators engage with children. The more of us who can talk to him, the better both his understanding and the tools he intends to develop will be. I was only the second person who had met with him, so there is some way to go before he has enough material to work with in a meaningful way. He can meet online or in person and it really didn’t take much time.
You can find out more in the FMC’s November newsletter here.
If you have any questions or would like any further information about the study, please feel free to get in touch with Abbas via email at aeaaa2@cam.ac.uk.
Philippa Johnson
If you are an FMA member, and have successfully attained accreditation as a family mediator, we’d love to hear from you!
We want to bring the FMA community closer together by sharing achievements and highlighting the success of our members, and we think a great way to accomplish this is by congratulating those who are making great progress in their careers.
If you would like to share your achievement with us, please email: katie@northernnetworking.co.uk
Discover how the Court of Appeal reshaped the law on “settlement” under the 1980 Hague Convention in Re B (Child Abduction: Settlement) [2025] EWCA Civ 1382.
A court overturned a return order for a young child originally from Portugal who had lived openly in England for more than two years, finding that she had become fully integrated into life there, even though her future wasn’t guaranteed to be permanent. The judgment explains why long delays, even during mediation, limit the use of the Hague Convention’s fast-track return process and why a full welfare assessment was needed before deciding whether the child should go back to Portugal. It also confirms the high bar for arguing “grave risk of harm.” This case is essential reading for anyone dealing with international child relocation or abduction issues.
Read the full headnote here.
Philippa Johnson
The “Integrated Approach” is the FMA’s flagship advanced training course – a two-day in-person course that challenges you to develop your practice in a child and family centred, holistic way, integrating additional participants and new ideas.
This approach is both new and not new; both perspective and practice; not a new model or theory but a bringing together and integration of what we already know.
The first day of FMA’s two-day course focuses primarily on theoretical underpinnings and the practice of integrated mediation and lawyer-assisted mediation.
The second day primarily offers practice in managing new participants and processes, through role play and case study and deeper discussion of issues such as confidentiality and impartiality, both within and outside the process.
You can find out more, and read our FAQs on integrated mediation, in the members area of the FMA website: www.thefma.co.uk
We will be running the following courses in 2026:
📍London
📅16th – 17th February
📍Stafford
📅17th – 18th March
https://thefma.co.uk/conferencetraining/an-integrated-approach-to-family-mediation-3/
📍Havant
📅14th – 15th July
https://thefma.co.uk/conferencetraining/an-integrated-approach-to-family-mediation-2/
We are very happy to travel to other parts of the country if invited, and are also planning to set up the promised online discussion groups for those who’ve already trained. Please contact us if you want to express interest in any of the existing courses or in hosting one yourself with the assistance of the FMA.
We look forward to seeing you!
Neil Robinson, Philippa Johnson and Claire Webb – Trainers
Improving Communication in Stuck Situations in Mediation
📅 3rd December 2025
🕒10am – 12pm
👤 Simon Shattock
This workshop is designed to equip mediators with tools and techniques to break through communication barriers and manage impasses in mediation sessions. By focusing on practical strategies, participants will learn how to re-engage dialogue, foster understanding, and create pathways for progress in even the most challenging situations.
Key areas covered include Identifying and Understanding Communication Roadblocks, Techniques to Reframe and Redirect Conversations, Tools for Enhancing Empathy and Listening, Managing High Emotion and Diffusing Tension.
Register Now 👉 Improving Communication in Stuck Situations in Mediation – The Family Mediators Association
The Ripple Effect: Understanding Trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Developing a Trauma Informed Mediation Practice
📅 5th December 2025
🕒10am – 12pm
👤 Claire Webb
This course offers an introduction to trauma and its impact on the body, trauma related diagnoses, adverse childhood experiences, trauma related behaviours and triggers in mediation, compassionate curiosity, a trauma informed practice.
PPC Update of Theory and Practice
📅 9th December 2025
🕒10am – 4pm
👤 Beverley Sayers
A PPC’s role includes the establishment of a professional relationship with a supervisee, supporting and facilitating the growth of a mediator’s career and their professional development in this specialised profession. The Course will update and develop PPC’s understanding, and provide support and resources, for undertaking this demanding and facilitative role. This Course will provide updates on current mediation practice including online working, from supporting the mediator’s journey to FMCA through to screening processes and complaints, CIM, the LAA and the PPC Code of Practice.
Register Now 👉 Family Mediators Association