Who we are

Coventry & Warwickshire Family Mediation is a Company Limited by Guarantee and a Registered Charity managed by a voluntary group of Trustees.

Originally set up with support from Social Services, the Service has been providing family mediation in Coventry since 1981. The Service was one of the first 5 set up in the England and Wales and was active in supporting the formation of the national organisation - now National Family Mediation. The Service values the support and guidance that being affiliated to National Family Mediation offers.

In 1997 the Service was successful in gaining a place in Phase 1 of the Legal Services Commission's (then Legal Aid Board) pilot project for publicly funded family mediation.

Since 2000 mediation has also been made more accessible for families in Warwickshire by the opening of outposts - currently in Nuneaton, and Stratford upon Avon.

In the years since the introduction of the pilot project we have seen a huge increase in demand for Family Mediation, partly as a result of people seeking public funding (legal aid) needing to find out about mediation, but also because more and more people are becoming aware of the service provided and are deciding to make their arrangements for the future with the support of a mediator.

To accommodate this growth and improve working conditions for staff, the Service moved to its present offices in Coventry Point in August 2002.

In October 2004 the Legal Services Commission (LSC) introduced standardised contracts for not for profit family mediation providers, bringing contracts more into line with the "for profit" providers.

In January 2005 the service achieved the Investors in People standard.

In April 2007 the LSC introduced new contracting arrangements for all Civil Contract holders & this included mediation providers.

In 2009 CWFM led on a successful bid to the Department of Children, Schools and Families to pilot co-ordinated services for separated families. The Coventry Parenting Together Partnership consists of CWFM, Coventry Relate, Coventry Citizens Advice Bureau and Coventry Law Centre. Developement work is currently being done and various projects will start in January 2010. The pilot runs until March 2011.

---000---

Current Trustees (December 2008)

Lesley Duff - Chair

Tony Kiely JP LLB MA - Vice Chair

Janet Jones-Legg MBE JP

Mike Turner

Susan Pearce