Special guardianship orders (SGO)

What is a special guardianship order?

A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is an order that secures a child’s long-term care with someone who is not their parent. An SGO lasts until a child turns 18. The order gives parental responsibility (PR) to the special guardian that they then share with the birth parents.

The special guardian will make day-to-day decisions. They can do so without consulting the parents and can overrule them if necessary.

A special guardian cannot change a child's surname. They also cannot take a child out of the country for a period of more than three months without written consent from all with parental responsibility.

When might someone seek a special guardianship order?

There are different situations where special guardianship is being thought about for a child. When a child is subject to an interim care order because Children’s Services were worried about them, or the child has suffered, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm, a full assessment of suitable family members or friends is carried out.

Children’s Services and the Family Court would determine what is in the child’s best interests. This may mean living with family or friends under an SGO.

There is another route to accessing an SGO through private law proceedings. This can avoid care proceedings. For example, a parent and a relative might decide that it would be better for the child to live with the relative. The relative would then apply for an SGO. This would be known as a private law application as the court proceedings were not started by Children’s Services.

Who can apply for a Special Guardianship Order?

In private law proceedings, a family member or friend can apply if they are not the parent and over 18. The relative or friend can apply jointly with someone else. Typically, someone can apply if the:

• Family friend or relative is already the child’s legal guardian
• Child lives with a family friend or relative because of a child arrangement order (CAO). A CAO is an order from the Family Court setting out arrangements for where a child is to live. Such an order made by the Court is legally binding on the parents of the child
• Child has lived with a relative or friend for three years, or for shorter periods amounting to three out of the past five years, including sometime within the past three months
• Child has lived, and continues to live, with a relative or a foster parent for at least one year
• Family friend or relative has the agreement of everyone named in a CAO as someone whom the child will live with
• Family friend or relative has the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility for the child
• Family friend or relative has the agreement of the local authority if the child is in their care. A foster parent can apply to be a special guardian after a child has been living with them for 12 months

Relatives may apply for a SGO after caring for the child for one year. As special guardians, they will have parental responsibility for the child. It is shared with the parents but allows more freedom in daily matters than a CAO does.

SGOs may be made in private family proceedings and Southampton City Council may not be a party to any such arrangements. However, an SGO in favour of a relative or foster carer (who was a 'Connected Person') with whom a child is living with may be an appropriate outcome as part of a permanence plan for a "Child in Need" or a "Looked After Child".

What support is available under an SGO?

Southampton City Council has a dedicated Kinship Care team that can:

• Provide advice on issues related to special guardianship
• Facilitate consultation and mediation with various agencies, including education, housing, and healthcare
• Offer advice on working with birth parents and managing family time and contact
• Ensure access to training opportunities and support groups for kinship carers
• Membership of Kinship, a national charity offering independent advice and support to all kinship carers
• Provide advice on financial support, conduct financial assessments, and signposting in respect of benefit
• Offer signposting to therapeutic support services for children
• Review and update the special guardianship support plan, if needed
• Undertake a needs assessment alongside carers and children

Contact Us

If you have questions or need further assistance, please contact us by:

• Phone: 023 8083 2802
• Email: kinshipduty@southampton.gov.uk

Our office address is: Kinship Care Duty Team, Southampton City Council, Civic Centre, Southampton, SO14 7LY.