Special guardianship order
A special guardianship order (SGO) is an order made by the family court and states that the person or people named on the SGO will become the child’s special guardian.
As a special guardian, you have parental responsibility for the child until they are 18 years old. The child will live with you permanently, and you will make both day-to-day decisions about their care and more important decisions about their life.
To become a Special Guardian, you must be first assessed by a social worker from Rotherham Council, if the child currently lives in Rotherham. You may be approached by the Council for assessment in some circumstances, but you can also contact us to ask to be assessed through approaching the child’s social worker, or through the MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) if you think the child does not have a social worker.
Report a concern about a child or young person
Only a court can make Special Guardianship Orders and it can only make them once it has a copy of the assessment.
Find out more about special guardianship orders
There can be differences in the statutory support for Special Guardians depending on whether your kinship child was a Child in Care previously.
