Legal Update: Special Guardianship Orders

Last year, 3,690 children were placed under a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), almost twice the number placed in 2011. An SGO is often used to confirm a child's placement with a family and friends carer. Where a special guardianship arrangement is proposed because the child's birth parents are not able to care for the child, the legal connection to the birth parent is not severed. However, the child is able to benefit from stability and permanence, and the special guardian is able to exercise parental responsibility for the child.

Nonetheless, the use of SGOs is not without problems. In its 2015 consultation on special guardianship, the Department for Education noted the lack of adequate support services for special guardians, including information and advice. It also highlighted that "for a special guardianship to be successful, both the child or children and the guardian(s) may need support". Three years later, a report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman called Firm Foundations, has found that the number of complaints about SGOs is increasing, and some significant mistakes are being made repeatedly in this area.