Passing your foundation course means you can start working towards accreditation. It does not make you an accredited family mediator.
Most new mediators spend their first year finding suitable cases, working with a Professional Practice Consultant and gathering evidence for their FMCA portfolio.
The part people often underestimate is finding the cases. You can be trained, registered and ready to work, but suitable casework may still take time to secure.
You can earn money as a trainee mediator, although the work may be irregular and trainee rates are often lower. Your first year needs to be planned as a period of supervised practice rather than an immediate move into a full caseload.
You need the right arrangements before taking cases
After completing an FMC-approved Family Mediation Foundation Course, you need to:
- Join one of the Family Mediation Council’s member organisations.
- Appoint an accredited and registered Professional Practice Consultant, known as a PPC.
- Register with the Family Mediation Council as working towards accreditation.
Your PPC is not simply there to approve your portfolio at the end. They help decide what work you are ready to undertake and what support needs to be in place. You may also need to speak to them when a case raises questions about suitability, safeguarding, process or the limits of your experience.
As a mediator working towards accreditation, you can conduct private mediation under arrangements agreed with your PPC.
You cannot work alone on legally aided or voucher-funded cases. You cannot sign court forms or conduct a MIAM for the purpose of signing a court application form. Seeing children directly in child-inclusive mediation also requires additional training and professional status.
The FMC explains these restrictions in its scope of practice guidance.
Before accepting any work, you need to be clear about what you can do, who will support you and what happens if a case moves beyond your current experience.
Finding suitable cases can be the hardest part
You can book a training course for fixed dates. Casework is less predictable.
Some new mediators join an established service that can offer observations, co-mediation and trainee cases. Others try to build their own practice or work with solicitors and other mediators. The route you take will affect how quickly you gain experience.
You may begin by observing MIAMs and joint sessions. You may then co-mediate before taking the lead in cases under supervision. The amount of support you need should depend on the case and your readiness.
Even when you receive a referral, it may not develop into a full mediation process. The first person may attend a MIAM, but the other person may decline the invitation. The case may be unsuitable, or the participants may decide not to continue. Some mediations end after one session.
This means that ten referrals do not necessarily give you ten cases for your portfolio.
You can be paid while working towards accreditation. The rate and type of work will depend on the service. Some opportunities may involve observation or co-mediation rather than paid case responsibility. If you need a regular income, keep another source of income until your mediation work becomes consistent.
You also need to allow time for preparation, case administration, PPC discussions and follow-up work. An hour-long meeting can create considerably more than an hour of work.
Your portfolio needs attention from the start
The FMCA portfolio is built from your work in practice. It includes more than evidence that you attended or conducted sessions.
You need to show how you applied the FMC competencies, responded to feedback and developed your practice. This can involve case material, reflections, observations, professional development records and examples of your written work.
Do not wait until you have several cases before trying to organise everything. Agree a system with your PPC at the beginning. Keep the relevant documents together and write your reflections while you can still remember what happened.
Current FMC portfolio guidance requires ten hours of portfolio-focused PPC time during portfolio preparation. This is separate from the four hours of PPC time required each year for registered mediators.
PPCs set their own fees. You may also need to pay for professional membership, FMC registration, insurance and portfolio assessment. Check what is included in any post-course programme before agreeing to it.
A 12-month period does not guarantee that your portfolio will be ready. The timing depends on the cases you receive, whether they provide the evidence you need and how quickly you complete the written work.
You can read the full professional pathway in How to become a family mediator.
What would count as a good first year?
You may gain FMCA within your first year. You may still be collecting evidence. The result depends heavily on access to suitable cases, so accreditation alone is not a fair measure of whether the year has gone well.
By the end of the year, you should have:
- The correct registration, membership and PPC arrangements.
- Experience of observing, co-mediating or leading suitable cases.
- A reliable system for keeping portfolio evidence.
- Regular discussions with your PPC about your work.
- A clear view of the portfolio evidence you have and what is still missing.
- Better judgement about when to proceed, pause or ask for help.
Veritas offers a Family Mediation Graduate Portfolio Programme for mediators who want a structured route after foundation training.
The 12-month programme includes access to cases, observation, co-mediation, opportunities to lead cases when ready, PPC supervision, formal observation and portfolio review. It supports your preparation for accreditation, but the FMC makes the accreditation decision after assessing your completed portfolio.
Foundation training leaves you ready to begin supervised practice. Your first year is where you find out how difficult casework can be to secure; how much work sits outside the mediation room and what evidence you still need before applying for FMCA.