Jargon buster: Special guardianship

What does it mean? The concept of special guardianship was introduced in the Adoption and Children Act 2002. It is intended to provide carers and guardians with a more permanent legal responsibility over children who cannot live with their birth parents. A special guardianship order gives the guardian legal parental responsibility for the child, which is expected to last until the child is 18. However, this differs from an adoption order as parental responsibility still lies with the birth parents.

Essentially it means a child who was previously in care becomes the responsibility of the special guardian as opposed to the local authority. And although birth parents retain their legal parental responsibility, all the big decisions, such as those about education, are made by the special guardian. Consultation with birth parents is only necessary in exceptional circumstances. Examples of matters where a special guardian cannot independently overrule the rights of birth parents include changing the child's surname, permission to marry and putting the child up for adoption.