For many special guardians, the granting of the SGO was a significant event marked with a celebratory meal or even a holiday. Many guardians still recalled the immense joy they had felt when they obtained the order, the words ‘ecstatic’, ‘elated’, ‘over the moon’ and ‘over joyed’ were just a few of the words special guardians used to capture how they had felt at the time. The granting of the order had enabled them to feel more secure in their parenting role and that they could provide a safe and stable placement for their child. Often it increased the sense of belonging within the family, several special guardians reporting that the child now felt like one of their own and that there was now a sense of normality: ‘He became my boy.’
Where there had been some uncertainty about the child’s future, the granting of the order provided relief that everything was finally settled and the family could get on with their lives and stop
worrying. Kinship carers often reported that they were happy that their child was now able to grow up within their own family environment. For many, a distinct advantage of the order being granted was that there would be no more social work involvement, they would be free from paperwork and had more of a say over what they thought was best for the child. In some cases the order had significant consequences; for example it enabled one special guardian to apply for British
Nationality for their child. Whilst most carers were happy to have been granted the order, many did not feel that the SGO made any difference to their relationship with their child, it was merely a formality.
‘It made no difference to our relationship…we already would have regarded her as our own.’
Just one carer reported feeling ‘scared and overwhelmed’ when they received the SGO, feeling let down by the lack of support to be offered post-order. This was an aunt who was becoming the sole carer for two young children who moved to live with her just one month before the SGO was
granted. Whilst the placement was still intact at the time of the follow-up study, the aunt had endured considerable stress, having to relocate because of problems she had experienced with the children’s birth parents.
Guardians were mindful that this might not be a happy day for all parties. If birth parents were also present at the court hearing, special guardians did not feel it was appropriate to have visible
celebrations.
‘I thought it was a difficult situation for…her mum…Holly’s becoming part of this other
family…I don’t remember any whoops of joy or anything like that.’
(Family friend who became Holly’s special guardian)
Often the children themselves were too young at the time of the order to understand what it meant, however special guardians of older children relayed the joy their child had felt when the order was granted: ‘[Our] child was jumping around he was so happy.’
The order was reported to help children feel more settled and have more confidence in their own future. Some children had more mixed feelings, sometimes due to the loss of a relationship with a parent. Achieving Special Guardianship had often been the end of a long and sometimes difficult journey. In the next chapter we look at how things subsequently turned out for the children and their families.
7.6 Summary
• For just over half of families, the Special Guardianship application had arisen during a planning and review meeting for a looked after child, reflecting the high number of looked after children for whom this provides a route out of care. For non-looked after children, the application more often arose when their carer gave notice to children’s services of their intentions to apply for a SGO.
• Many special guardians did not feel fully prepared by their local authority social worker to become a special guardian. In particular one-half of carers did not feel they had been able to properly consider the pros and cons of different permanency options and over two-fifths felt they had not been able to make the decision completely free from local authority pressure. Children were often not felt to have been fully prepared to join a Special Guardianship family. These represent key challenges for social workers, with some local authorities appearing to perform better at preparing families than others.
• Social workers need to make sure that carers consider the long term implications of becoming a special guardian and the support they might need in the future.
• Carers perceived the main advantages to Special Guardianship to include: the removal or avoidance of the child entering the care system, having majority parental responsibility and the removal of bureaucracy from the local authority. Kinship carers also saw SG as
providing an opportunity for a child to return or remain with family.
• Carers concerns about Special Guardianship included: tensions within the family
(particularly for kinship carers); concerns about own ability to provide long-term care (e.g. age and/or health problems); whether the child was sufficiently settled before the order was granted; getting enough support, including financial support; not fully understanding the implications of a SGO.
• Where children were old enough to express an opinion, they usually supported their special guardian becoming their permanent carer. Ensuring the order is explained in a meaningful way is important to children. It is also important to consider other children in the household and how a SGO may affect them.
• Birth parents often accepted Special Guardianship reluctantly, acknowledging it as the ‘least worst’ alternative. Some parents understood that they were not able to provide the care their child needed and were supportive of the special guardian. Others were fully opposed, which made life difficult for carers.
• Local authorities were most often highly supportive of the order. Concerns typically regarded the ability of the special guardian to safeguard the child from their birth parents. Other
concerns included the child’s developmental needs or behaviour difficulties, household residents not co-operating with the assessment, the SG applicant’s physical or mental health, overcrowding or perceived lack of a support network for the special guardian.
• Carers who had not had much experience with children’s services often found the
assessment process quite intimidating. This could be alleviated if the social worker formed a good rapport with the carer. The process could be hindered by inexperienced social workers or a lack of continuity. Whist the process could be perceived as intrusive most carers
accepted that it had been in the best interests of the child.
• Special guardians had mostly positive experiences in court, although some felt it had taken too long to get there and others felt they had been rushed to court to meet court deadlines.
• In three-in-ten cases, the judge made a contact order in addition to the SGO. These were typically to allow mothers and fathers contact with their child. Rarely, orders were granted to prevent contact between the parents and child.
• In one-in-nine cases, the judge attached a supervision order. These were often applied so that the local authority could supervise contact with birth parents and so that guardians were ensured to receive the support they needed.
• The granting of the order was seen as a cause for celebration for most guardians, although it often was not perceived to make a substantial difference to the child-carer relationship. The order often provided a sense of security for children, although for some it raised concerns about bonds with their birth parents.