Glossary · UK
What is Special Guardianship Order?
A family court order giving a carer, often a relative, parental responsibility for a child on a long-term basis without ending the birth parents' own parental responsibility entirely.
Full Definition
A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is a family court order that gives a carer -- often a grandparent, other relative, or family friend, though not necessarily a relative -- parental responsibility for a child on a long-term basis, allowing the special guardian to make most day-to-day and significant decisions about the child's upbringing, such as schooling and medical treatment, without needing the birth parents' agreement for every decision. Unlike an adoption order, which permanently and completely transfers parental responsibility and legally ends the birth parents' status as parents, a Special Guardianship Order allows the birth parents to keep their own parental responsibility and remain legally recognised as the child's parents, though the special guardian's parental responsibility takes precedence if there is a disagreement, and the arrangement can, in more limited circumstances than an ordinary residence arrangement, later be varied or discharged by a further court application. Special guardians may be entitled to a Special Guardianship Allowance from the local authority, means-tested and set at the discretion of each local authority (commonly benchmarked against, though not identical to, fostering allowance rates), to help with the cost of raising the child, and may also be eligible for other support such as therapeutic services, and, depending on the child's circumstances, similar practical entitlements to those available to some foster carers or adoptive parents, such as additional paid leave from some employers or extra help through school. Special Guardianship Orders are often used as a more stable, permanent alternative to ongoing foster care for a child who cannot live with their birth parents but where full adoption is not considered appropriate or in the child's best interests, for example where maintaining some legal connection to the birth family, or an older child's own wishes about not being adopted, are significant factors in the court's decision.