Special Guardianship Orders (SGO)

A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is a legal order made by a court. Its purpose is to give the child the security of a permanent home.

It appoints a carer as the special guardian of a child. The special guardian has parental responsibility for the child until they turn 18. They will make all day-to-day decisions about the child. Unlike adoption, the child's birth parents are still legally their parents. Their parental responsibility does not stop but is limited.

Suitability

A special guardianship order may be particularly suitable for children who:

are in long-term foster care
are cared for permanently by members of their wider family
want to keep a legal link with their birth family, but would benefit from more permanent care arrangements
cannot live with their birth parents and adoption is not right for them
are from families who have cultural or religious difficulties with adoption as set out in law

Who can apply

You can apply to be a child’s special guardian if you’re not their parent and you’re over 18.

You can make an application with someone else. This is known as a joint claim.

You and anyone you’re applying with can apply if:

you’re already the child’s legal guardian
the child lives with you because of a child arrangements order
the child has lived with you for 3 of the past 5 years
you’re the child’s relative or a foster parent, and the child has been living with you for at least 1 year
you have the agreement of anyone named in a child arrangements order as someone who the child will live with
you have the agreement of all the people with parental responsibility for the child
you have the agreement of the local council, if the child is in care

If you do not fit one of these descriptions, you’ll need to ask the court’s permission to apply.

How to apply

Speak to the child’s Social Worker, if they have one.

If they do not have a social worker you can contact our Single Point of Contact.

Written notice

You must tell us in writing at least three months before you're ready to apply. During this period we'll assess your suitability to be a special guardian.

Submitting your application

Fill in the application forms on the gov.uk website and send them to your local family court.

Assessment report

We'll use the three months before your application to assess your suitability to be a special guardian. The report will also assess whether a SGO is the best way to meet the child's needs.

It will look at:

the child's needs and wishes
information about the prospective special guardian
the views of people involved in the child's life
what support services may be needed

The court will use the report to make a decision.

Support plan

A support plan is an important part of the assessment. It:

specifies who is responsible for caring for the child or children
includes information on how you will meet the child's needs
says who you can contact if you have any questions relating to your role as a special guardian
includes the names and contact details of relevant persons in the council

Review of the support plan

We must review the services we provide as part of the support plan.

We must make contact with special guardians at least once a year.

This could be by phone call if:

there is an established and settled relationship between the guardian and the child
there are no worries, difficulties or concerns
the special guardianship arrangement is working well
no further advice, guidance or support is needed

If more support is needed then a social worker may arrange a meeting.

Our expectations

You must tell us if:

you change your address
the child no longer has a home with you
the child dies
your financial circumstances or the financial needs of the child change

You should also tell us if your contact details or relationship status change.

If you get financial support you must give us a written annual statement of circumstances.

Support for special guardians

For support, you can contact our Special Guardian Support team by emailing sgo@npt.gov.uk