A Special Guardianship Order places your child with another person who is not their parent. This person then has to care for your child's needs and wellbeing. It also gives Parental Responsibility to the guardian without taking away your Parental Responsibility.
This is one of the ways that the relationship between the parents and the child can be maintained.
There are a number of reasons why a relative could have special guardianship over your child. For example, they may want to take care of your child on a temporary basis, rather than something as permanent as adoption.
Before anyone can apply for a Special Guardianship Order for your child, they will need to give the Local Authority 3 months’ notice. The Local Authority will make a report with information about the child and what is within their best interests. This report must be completed and sent to the court for the Special Guardianship Order to be made.
If your child was considered old enough at the time, their wishes will be taken into consideration and they will be asked if they would want your relative as a special guardian. Although there is no set age as to who is “old enough” the Court will usually say a child is old enough to make this decision if they understand the idea of special guardianship.
We're rated‘Excellent’A special guardianship usually lasts until your child is 18. However, if circumstances change significantly the Court can vary or even discharge the Order. Varying an Order means changing the terms of the Order and discharging means to get rid of the Order completely and returning the child back to their parent/s.
You can also apply to the Court to vary or discharge the order if:
To vary or dismiss the special guardianship you need to get authorisation from the Court and also demonstrate what changes have happened since the Special Guardianship Order was made.
This information was originally published on our website on 07/08/2013.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of the vaccine, we’re all being encouraged to get double jabbed. Plus, with the recent Omicron variant, we’re now all being urged to get the booster too.
A Parental Order is an order that is unique to surrogacy, and which regulates legal parenthood. In England and Wales, the surrogate will be classed as the legal mother when a baby is born. If she is married or in a civil partnership, her spouse or partner will usually be considered as the child’s second parent.
In England and Wales, a Parental Responsibility Order is a Court Order which gives a person Parental Responsibility - which isn’t the same as being a parent. Instead, Parental Responsibility gives a person "all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property".
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