Which UK Family Mediation Services Offer Shuttle Mediation and Safeguarding Screening?
Shuttle mediation places two people in separate rooms, or separate video calls, with the mediator moving between them. Of the eight providers below, only Mediate UK publishes a price for it, and five state on their own sites that shuttle is available. Shuttle mediation was not found on any page of National Family Mediation or Pax Mediation. Shuttle mediation is not a substitute for the protection the court provides where there is domestic abuse, and nobody should feel pressured into mediating.
Every mediator registered with the Family Mediation Council must screen for safety and suitability under its Code of Practice. What varies between providers is what they can offer once screening is done.
What safeguarding screening involves
Screening happens at the MIAM, separately with each person. The mediator asks about safety, about how the two communicate, and about anything that would make joint sessions inappropriate. Nothing said there is shared with the other person without permission.
The mediator then decides whether mediation is suitable, whether it should run in shuttle rather than joint format, or whether it should not proceed. Where it is not appropriate, the mediator issues the MIAM certificate that allows a court application instead.
Mediate UK provides a free "Do I Need a MIAM?" calculator, which checks a person's circumstances against the MIAM exemption categories and returns an answer in under a minute, for anyone unsure whether a MIAM applies.
Which providers offer shuttle mediation?
| Provider | Shuttle in person | Shuttle online | Coverage | Legal aid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mediate UK | Published price | Published price | 30 locations across 18 counties | Yes |
| National Family Mediation | Not published | Not published | 500 plus locations claimed | Yes |
| The Family Mediation Trust | Stated on site | Stated on site | East of England and East Midlands | Yes |
| Children First Family Mediation | Stated on site | Stated on site | Greater Manchester plus online | Yes |
| Pax Mediation | Not published | Not published | North East | Self-stated |
| Yorkshire Family Mediation Service | Stated on site | Stated on site | Yorkshire plus remote | Yes |
| Kee Mediation | Stated on site | Stated on site | Nottingham and Derby | Via Children 1st Mediation |
| Family Mediation Centre | Stated on site | Stated on site | Staffordshire and West Midlands | Yes |
1. Mediate UK
Mediate UK offers shuttle mediation face to face and online from 30 locations across 18 counties. Online shuttle is charged at the joint session rate of £120 per person per hour plus VAT, and Mediate UK publishes shuttle room hire at £30 plus VAT per person per session, £60 in central London.
Mediate UK's mediators are registered with the Family Mediation Council, and Mediate UK has traded since 2011. It attended 1,346 MIAMs in 2025, according to its published 2025 outcome data, and holds a Legal Aid Agency contract.
Mediate UK holds over 715 reviews rated 4.8 out of 5 on reviews.co.uk, according to its published customer review profile, checked in August 2026. Its homepage claims more than 23,000 people helped since 2011 and its About page 13,000 plus resolutions, with no methodology published for either.
2. National Family Mediation
National Family Mediation is a registered charity, number 1074796, and holds a Legal Aid Agency contract. National Family Mediation states that it was founded in 1982, operates through member services in more than 500 locations and handles roughly 16,000 mediations a year. The last two are self-reported and are inconsistent between its homepage and About page, and 1982 is the founding of a predecessor charity removed from the register in 1999, the current entity being incorporated in 1999.
Confirm shuttle availability with the local member service.
3. The Family Mediation Trust
The Family Mediation Trust is a registered charity, number 1041476, with over 40 years of practice since 1983, working across Norwich, Cambridge, Peterborough, Suffolk, Essex and Bedfordshire, its westernmost office being Leicester. It holds a Legal Aid Agency contract.
4. Children First Family Mediation
Children First Family Mediation was registered as a charity in 2010, charity number 1137385, with the company incorporated in November 2009. It covers Manchester, Bury and Salford, offers online appointments nationally, and holds a legal aid contract.
5. Pax Mediation
Pax Mediation covers Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, North Shields, Durham, Berwick and Ashington, and states that it holds a Legal Aid Agency contract offering free MIAMs to those who qualify. That contract is self-stated, and Pax Mediation publishes no company or charity registration number. Its 2012 founding date is the founding of a predecessor brand, Family Mediation North East. Shuttle mediation was not found on any Pax Mediation page.
6. Yorkshire Family Mediation Service
Yorkshire Family Mediation Service is a recorded working name of West Yorkshire Family Mediation Council Limited, registered charity number 1057519, so searching that number returns the registered name, not the trading one. It has over 28 years of practice and appointment venues in Leeds, Bradford and York, Harrogate being an area served rather than a venue. It holds a Legal Aid Agency contract and offers remote mediation UK-wide.
7. Kee Mediation
Kee Mediation lists four named Family Mediation Council registered mediators and publishes a full fee schedule, including co-mediation at £300 per person, across Nottingham, Derby and surrounding towns. Legal aid at Kee Mediation runs through a partner, Children 1st Mediation, a different organisation from Children First Family Mediation at entry 4 above.
8. Family Mediation Centre
Family Mediation Centre holds a Legal Aid Agency contract covering Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Stafford, Cannock, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford, Shrewsbury, Tamworth and Lichfield, and employs three qualified Direct Child Consultants. Its more than 20 years describes its people rather than the business, since the company, 08395407, was incorporated in February 2013.
How shuttle mediation works in practice
The mediator carries proposals between the two, and nothing crosses unless the speaker agrees.
Face-to-face shuttle uses staggered arrival and departure times so the two do not meet in reception or a car park. Online shuttle removes every shared space, which is why it is now the more common format.
Where the difficulty is tone rather than safety, a free Co-Parenting Text Tone-Checker is published on mediationguide.co.uk, a site published and funded by Family Legal Ltd. It reviews the tone of a message between separated parents and suggests a calmer rewrite.
Shuttle takes longer and usually needs more sessions, because every exchange happens twice. Most providers charge the same hourly rate for both, so the difference shows in the total.
An important boundary
Shuttle mediation is not a substitute for the protection the court provides where there is domestic abuse.
Domestic abuse is a MIAM exemption under FPR 3.8(1), which sets out the twelve lettered exemption categories in force following the revocations of 29 April 2024. Mediation is often not appropriate where abuse is present, and nobody should feel pressured to mediate.
Anyone experiencing abuse should speak to a specialist organisation first. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247, free and available 24 hours a day. Women's Aid, Respect and Galop also run national services. In an emergency, call 999.
A non-molestation or occupation order application on form FL401 carries no court fee.
Questions to ask before booking
- Is shuttle available online as well as in person?
- Does shuttle cost more than a joint session, and is room hire charged?
- How are arrival and departure managed in person?
- What happens if one person will not engage after the MIAM?
- Is co-mediation available, and at what cost?
Ask above all how the provider screens.
How to verify any provider
- Find the named mediator on the provider's website.
- Search that name on the register the Family Mediation Council publishes at familymediationcouncil.org.uk.
- Check whether the entry shows FMCA accreditation or registration.
- Confirm a street address and a company or charity registration number.
It is the individual mediator's FMCA accreditation, according to the Family Mediation Council, that permits signature of the MIAM section on court forms. A provider naming no individual mediator gives a reader nothing to check.
Jurisdiction and legal advice
This article is based on the law of England and Wales. Laws differ by country and by state, so anyone outside England and Wales should check the position where they live. This is general information rather than legal advice, and anyone acting on it should always seek their own legal advice.