Analysis of the survey sample enabled us to identify four clusters of children that broadly encapsulate the typical routes to a SGO for looked after children. These are consistent with findings based on national statistics on looked after children presented in Chapter 5. A further two pathways were identified for non-looked after children (see Tables 6.8 and 6.9).
Table 6.8 - Pathways to Special Guardianship
Looked after immediately prior to Special Guardianship Order Early Kin Initially placed with family or friends on entry to care.
Special Guardianship Order with this carer (typically) or with another relative. Late Kin Initially placed with an unrelated foster carer.
Moved to kin placement prior to Special Guardianship Order. Stranger Foster Carer Child never placed with kin.
Last unrelated foster carer becomes special guardian.
Stranger to Kin at SGO Move from unrelated foster carer to relative guardian at the time the SGO was granted.
Children not Looked After immediately prior to Special Guardianship Order
Edge of Care Child typically living with their special guardian either informally or under a Residence Order immediately prior to the Special Guardianship Order. Child has been looked after or been a child ‘in need’ in the past.
Private Application by kin for a Special Guardianship Order with whom the child typically already resided.
Child not known to children’s services prior to application.
The purpose of this typology is that it allows us to identify and describe the features of these different pathways into Special Guardianship. Where possible, in later chapters we also use these clusters to explore outcomes for children.
Table 6.9 - Profile of children according to their typology N (%) Age at SGO Mean=years (SD) Time (years) spent living with SG prior to SGO (SD) Proportion of children with additional needs80 Bond with Special Guardian % rated very strong Looked after immediately prior to Special Guardianship Order
Early Kin 63 (27.5) 5.9 (4.62) 2.5 (2.65) 16.5% 74% Late Kin 53 (23) 4.8 (4.26) 1.2 (1.55) 17.5% 62.5% Stranger Foster Carer 22 (9.5) 11.5 (3.93) 5.9 (3.36) 54.5% 86.5% Stranger to Kin at SGO 30 (13) 3.8 (3.69) NA 17.2% 24%
Children not Looked After immediately prior to Special Guardianship Order
Edge of Care 54 (23.5) 6.0 (4.51) 2.4 (3.05) 29% 59.5%
Private 7 (3) 9.1 (4.74) 3.9 (3.14) 43% 71.5%
Several interesting distinctions can be made between the different clusters:
• Children whose stranger foster carer became their special guardian were the oldest at the time of the order.81 They had also spent longer living with their carer prior to the order.82 This group also had the greatest proportion of children with health, physical or learning disabilities.83
• Children who had not lived with their special guardian prior to the making of the SGO had the weakest bonds with their carer.84
80
This includes all children identified as having one or more physical or mental health problems or disabilities. 81
Kruskal Wallis Test p<.001, n=229. Mann Whitney U Exact Tests comparing each pair of classifications found Stranger Foster Care to be significantly different to all clusters apart from Private at p<.001 (Bonferroni adjustment set at p<.0033 for multiple comparisons).
82
Kruskal Wallis Test p<.001, n=182. Mann Whitney U Exact Tests comparing each pair of classifications found Stranger Foster Care to be significantly different to all clusters apart from Private at p<.001 (Bonferroni adjustment set at p<.005 for multiple comparisons). The Stranger to Kin group was excluded from this analysis as length of time living with SG prior to SGO was a factor in its classification.
83
Fisher’s Exact Test p=.007 (n=222). A carer in the Stranger Foster Carer group was significantly more likely to have a child with additional needs than carers in the Early Kin group (Fisher’s Exact Test p=.003). Other comparisons were non-significant, although comparisons with stranger foster carers and the late kin and stranger to kin groups
approached significance. (Bonferroni adjustment set at p<.0033 for multiple comparisons) 84
Fisher’s Exact Test, p<.001 (n=225). Children who moved to their carer at the time the SGO was made were less likely to have a strong bond with their carer. Comparisons significant against Early Kin p<.001, n=91, Late Kin p=.001, n=82, Stranger Foster Carers p<.001, n=51 and Edge of Care p=.003, n=81. (Bonferroni adjustment set p at p<.0033 for multiple comparisons). Strength of bond was based on a four point researcher rating drawn from case file evidence (very strong to very weak).
120
• The children who formed the Late Kin group tended to be slightly younger and less settled than the Early Kin group at the time of order, which was reflected in the smaller proportion of child-special guardian bonds being rated as ‘very strong’ prior to the order.85
• For all the looked after Kin groups children tended to have moved to live with their guardian aged between 3-4 years old. The differences lay in the time it then took for their carer to become their special guardian.
• Children who had not been looked after immediately prior to the order did not appear vastly different to children who had been in looked after kin placements. Slightly fewer ‘edge of care’ cases had strong bonds with their carers, and a greater proportion of these children were reported to have additional needs than the previously looked after children living with kin.86
In order to provide greater depth to the arrival stories of children, this chapter concludes with a selection of case studies typical of each of the clusters, drawing together some of these
background factors in a more integrated manner. Case Studies
1. Early kin: Lydia – fostered by maternal aunt and uncle who later became special guardians