she stopped me seeing my kids

[icewind]

Hey there,
I am new to this so hopefully you take it easy on me if I make a mistake :)
I have 2 kids with my ex partner and I was seeing them both and paying child maintenance for them. However 4 weeks ago she stopped me seeing them because she decided despite the fact me and the kids have a great time that I am not being a good enough dad. I have never let them down or hurt them in any way.
I went to a solicitor to seek advice and got referred to mediation. Now after that I feel let down and I have no idea what I should do now.
From the first moment I went in there the mediators bent over backwards for her because she wasn't interested in negotiating. It felt as if all they wanted was to say that this session would be a success no matter what happened. She kept answering suggestions with "I don't care" and "I'm just going to go to court" so they basically cut down everything to barely anything just to make her say yes.
Despite all her lies and twisting things she got it so that I have 2 hours of supervised contact every 2 weeks. Supervision isn't something I need as I am a great dad and everyone tells me I am. I am also used to seeing them 1 and a half days a week but as she now doesn't want me to be part of the boys lives she has made sure I have barely anything.
I am grateful to be able to see them again but I have been given no assurances or even a hint that this will ever change because she doesn't want it to.
My dilemma right now is should I accept what I am given and hope for the best. Just hope that she doesn't go back to messing me around or stopping me again. That I should only see the boys for 2 hours under supervision with nothing in places for birthdays of xmas ( because she didn't want to discuss it at mediation as she wasn't bothered) The other option I can think of is to go to court to try to get something closer to what I really feel I deserve. I feel very let down by the system trying to meet statistics rather than actually trying to encourage proper dialog.

Any help or comments are greatly appreciated as I would like some fresh opinions on this.
many thanks in advance and sorry if I have left out some information you might need. just ask. Like I said I am new and a bit emotional due to the circumstances so forgive any mistakes I may of made

I have been representing parents in contested contact disputes for nearly 15 years now and on a handful of occasions, recordings of conversations have been helpful.

In every other situation, I.e the vast majority, they have hindered.

By all means, keep a careful record of text and voice mail messages sent to you. But recording other peoples conversations, particularly without their knowledge, is going to send a worrying message about you.

I would add that any recording is done without telling anyone and kept in abeyance and only used if the situation is serious enough to warrant it.

It's not something to use as a threat or as a matter of course and has the potential to backfire.

It's also useful as an aide-mémoire - useful when making notes and can help in bundle preparation and cross examination although should not be referred to directly.

I can see that you'd why you'd say it `is going to send a worrying message about you'. As I say though - it's something not to be done lightly (or at the least used lightly as it were).

I have assisted people and they have used it to good effect at times (sparingly!) I used it in my own case many years back and it proved instrumental.

Another strong recommendation for FNF that comes from me and DH.

Good luck