Child Inclusive Mediation

Our family mediators are experts at handling all aspects of relationship breakdowns, taking a family-focused approach that encourages you and your partner to find the best solution and concentrate on the needs of any children you may have.

Going through a divorce or separation is difficult, but mediation can make the process more child-focused and less confrontational, benefiting you and your family.

Government expectation is for all children over the age of 10 to be given the opportunity to have their voices heard when arrangements between their parents are being discussed. At Stone King we offer child inclusive mediation and are able to provide this not only to our mediation clients but also to those who may be seeing mediators who aren’t child inclusive trained.

How it works

Child inclusive mediation should be offered if there are any children involved over the age of 10, it may also be possible for younger children to take part if they have an older sibling/s. Progressing with child inclusive mediation requires the consent of the parents and the consent of the child. Following this your child will receive a letter from one of our mediators, either Rebecca Eels and/or John Brownrigg, introducing themselves and explaining a bit more about what the process will entail.  The letter will be approved by you first and we will ask you to sign an agreement to confirm your consent to us seeing your child.

The mediator will want to find out from you more about your child to help create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, this may be your child/ren’s likes, hobbies, what they’re good at or enjoy etc. A meeting will then be set up between the mediator and the child/ren either in person or video call. The session will explore a variety of techniques and scenarios such as drawing, discussing how things look to the child and where they see themselves. The aim of the mediation session is to help children feel heard, respected and listened to and not to ask the child what they want to happen with future arrangements.

During the session the mediator will discuss with the child/ren what information they would like shared with their parents, this feedback serves to help parents to focus on what their child is saying but the decision making is still the responsibility of the parents.

At Stone King, our mediators are all family law solicitors but remain neutral throughout the discussion, with the key objective being a resolution for the family as a whole.