Special Guardianship
WHAT IS SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP?
Under the children act 1989 and the adoption and children act 2002 a special guardianship is where a child under 18 years of age is placed with an individual(s) other than his/her parents to look after and care for them for the long term. The child may have been living with these individual(s) for some time before the family court ordered a special guardianship.
LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBPAGE FOR CHILDREN ACT 1989
LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBPAGE FOR THE ADOPTION AND CHILDREN ACT 2002
A special guardian will make all the day to day decisions for the child, provide for the child, and look after the child’s safety, full time care, and wellbeing.
WHO CAN BECOME A SPECIAL GUARDIAN FOR A CHILD?
The following people can make an application to the family court for special guardianship:
- An individual who has a child arrangements order or a residence order already in place and has had the child living with them for more than 3 of the last 5 years.
- A person who has been given permission from the individuals who have a child arrangement court order for the child.
- A person who has been given permission from the local authority if the child in question is a looked after child (the child is in care).
- A person who has been given permission from the individuals who have parental responsibility for the child.
- The existing legal guardian of a child can make an application for special guardianship.
- Close and extended family members of the child (grandparents or an aunt).
- A foster carer who has had the child live with them for more than 1 year.
- An individual who has been given permission from the court to submit the special guardianship application to the court.
All other individuals who would like to make an application for special guardianship of a child will need to ask the family court for permission to make the application. The forms used to make an application for special guardianship and ask for permission are outlined below on this webpage. They can be sent to the court at the same time.
Please note a child’s birth parents cannot make an application to the family court for special guardianship of their child.
All individuals who make an application for special guardianship must be over 18 years of age.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR WHAT IS LEGAL PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
CAN TWO OR MORE INDIVIDUALS MAKE A JOINT APPLICATION TO THE COURT FOR SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP?
As long as the individuals meet the criteria set for an individual to make an application, then a joint application for special guardianship can be submitted. The individuals do not need to be married.
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF A SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP?
A special guardianship does not affect the legal relationship of the child to his/her birth parents. There will be no permanent change made to this relationship.
A special guardianship order is issued by the family court when adoption, fostering, and other child arrangement options are not suitable for the child’s situation.
HOW LONG CAN A SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP LAST FOR?
A special guardianship court order will be effective until a child turns 18 years of age. The family court can amend or revoke a special guardianship order.
DOES A SPECIAL GUARDIAN HAVE PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY?
A special guardian shares the parental responsibility of a child with the child’s parents; however, a special guardian will have a higher parental responsibility than the birth parents. A special guardian can make certain decisions (healthcare and education) regarding the child without consulting the parents.
For other decisions such as taking the child abroad for more than 3 months, adoption, name changes, and serious operations the special guardian will have to consult the parents.
If the special guardian and the parents cannot reach an agreement then an application can be made to the family court to make the decision for the child. The form used for this is form C2 because you will be making an application in existing court proceedings concerning children.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C2
IF A CHILD HAS A SPECIAL GUARDIAN CAN THEY STILL HAVE CONTACT WITH THEIR PARENTS?
Yes they can as long as there is no court order saying that the parents cannot have contact with the child.
The special guardian is responsible for maintaining reasonable contact between the child and his/her parents.
WHAT IF A SPECIAL GUARDIAN DOES NOT LET THE CHILD HAVE CONTACT WITH HIS/HER PARENTS?
If the special guardian does not allow or encourage a child to have contact with his/her parents then both the child and his/her parents should first talk to the special guardian and try to come to some arrangement.
If this fails then parents or the child can make an application to the court for a child contact court order. The form used to apply for a child contact court order is form C100.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C100
WHAT IF THE CHILD WANTS TO GO BACK TO HIS/HER PARENTS?
If this is the case and the child is not happy with the special guardianship then the child or his parents can make an application to the court to revoke the special guardianship.
The form used to revoke a special guardianship court order is form C1
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C1
WHAT IS A TESTAMENTARY GUARDIAN?
A testamentary guardian is one which is appointed by a special guardian in their will to look after a child if the special guardian were to pass away.
CAN A CHILD HAVE MORE THAN ONE SPECIAL GUARDIAN?
Yes they can. There is no specific limit.
WHAT HAPPENS TO AN EXISTING CARE ORDER (IF A CHILD HAS ONE) AFTER A SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ORDER IS GRANTED BY THE COURT?
If a child is a looked after child (a child in care) has an existing care order then this care order will come to an end once a special guardianship order is granted by the court.
HOW CAN A PERSON GET A SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ORDER?
A special guardianship over a child is awarded by a family court. The court will issue a special guardianship order (SGO) which is legally binding.
The individual asking for the special guardianship must complete a court application form and send it to your local family court. This form is called form C1.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C1
LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO FIND YOUR LOCAL FAMILY COURT
As discussed above, if an individual needs to ask the court for permission to make an application for special guardianship then they must complete form C2. Form C2 can be submitted to the family court alongside form C1 for the court to consider.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C2
The family court requires the person making the special guardianship application to also complete a supplement form on which they must detail their reasons for the application and their plans for the children. The form used for this is form C13A
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C13A
If the individual who is submitting the application for special guardianship wants to keep their contact details private they will need to leave the contact details on application form C1 blank. They will instead need to complete form C8 and submit it alongside form C1.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C8
MEDIATION IS A REQUIREMENT BEFORE SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP.
The family court will have expected the individual who is submitting the special guardianship application to have attended mediation with the child’s family to come to an agreement. If an agreement has NOT been found then the individual asking for special guardianship can complete and submit form C1 to the court to start proceedings. If this is the case the mediator will have to complete form FM1. This form FM1 will need to be submitted alongside form C1. Form FM1 will also inform the court if there is an exemption to attend mediation.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR CHILD ARRANGEMENTS WITH MEDIATION HELP
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM FM1
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORMS USED TO APPLY FOR A SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR CHILD ARRANGEMENTS BY GOING THROUGH THE COURT PROCESS.
DOES LOCAL AUTHORITY CHILD SERVICES NEED TO BE INFORMED OF A SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP APPLICATION?
Yes they do. The individual submitting the special guardianship application will need to notify their local authority child services 3 months prior to sending in their form to the court.
During these 3 months child services will open a case file and do their checks and investigations on the individual making the application, the child and whether the application is in the best interest of the child. The local authority child services will write a report of their findings and send it to the court where the application for special guardianship has been submitted. The report may contain the following information:
- Details of any previous assessments
- Any medical conditions or medical needs of the child.
- Any special educational needs of the child
- Any disability the child has
- Family details of the child (parents and siblings)
- Family situation of the child
- The wishes of the child and his/her parents
- The family details and situation of the special guardian
- Can the special guardian take on the parental responsibility for the child
- Any financial help and other help the local authority can provide.
If the child lives in another local authority then this authority will also have to be contacted to inform them that your local authority is preparing a report and a special guardianship application will be submitted in 3 months.
Your local authority will send you a copy of the report and you will have 28 days to reply if there is anything you disagree with.
WHO ELSE NEEDS TO BE INFORMED ABOUT THE APPLICATION?
The following individuals, organisations and departments will need to be informed. The person submitting the special guardian application form to the court will need to send a copy of the completed application form C1 along with dates, times and address of the court hearings.
IF THE CHILD IS NOT OR NEVER HAS BEEN IN CARE
- All people with parental responsibility for the child.
IF THE CHILD IS IN OR HAS BEEN IN CARE
- All people with parental responsibility for the child before the care order was granted.
- The child’s Cafcass guardian or any other guardian.
- All individuals who care for the child.
- Your local authority child services
- The local authority where the child is resident or in local authority accommodation.
- The children’s home or refuge where the child is resident.
- Everybody named in the care order
- Everybody who the child has lived with in the last 36 months.
- Everybody named in any court order in force at present where this application for special guardianship will affect the existing court order.
- Everybody named in existing court proceedings where this application for special guardianship will affect the existing court proceedings.
IS THERE ANY SUPPORT AVAILABLE FROM THE LOCAL AUTHORITY FOR A SPECIAL GUARDIAN?
Yes there can be depending upon the specific circumstances of the case and if the child has been or is a looked after child (a child in care). Support can also be made available for the child and the birth parents.
If the child is or was ever a looked after child then there will be an automatic assessment for support. If the child is not or was never a looked after child then a request can be made for assessment for support.
The local authority will also look at the financial position of the special guardian and the birth parents of the child and assess the needs of the child.
The support a local authority can provide will be assessed as part of the assessment report the local authority will do for the court.
The types of support available are:
- Financial help.
- Therapy
- Meditation to help arrange contact between child and birth parents.
- Counselling
- Support groups
- Training for the special guardian
You must contact your local authority child services and ask about ‘special guardian allowance’.
LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO FIND YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITY
ARE THE BIRTH PARENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING FOR THE CHILD’S UPKEEP?
Yes, the birth parents are still responsible for paying for the child’s upkeep.