SGO and PR

[Cellbar]

Hi everyone

At the point at the moment where we are being run ragged by solicitors letters, guardians reports, parents wants and its all a bit much!

We have had an SGO now for almost 5 years and the parents just keep pushing and pushing - they want increased and unsupervised contact which we are very much against - simply because we do not feel as it is in the best interests of the child at this point in time.

I have found a legal site that quotes:

'The order will give its holder the right to exercise exclusively parental responsibility (make parental decisions on behalf of the child). It does not extinguish the parent’s parental responsibility but suspends it for the duration of the Order'.

If this is the case, why are our wishes swept aside as though they don't matter? Why do we have to have checks, reports, interviews and meetings all over again? If this is the case, why is it so easy for the mother to put in court applications at the drop of a hat?

We also understand that with PR (as parents), they are entitled to medical info (via the GP etc) and info relating to school/education - we have said to the school that any info/reports will be passed onto parents through us, but does this mean they can go to school and get any information they want as parents, at any time?

We have said that at this moment in time it would be too confusing for our g/d to have parents in school in any capacity - with our PR, surely our wishes should be respected?

We always pass on any info to parents as a matter of course anyway so why would they need to go into school? If they did go into school, surely we can request that it is done when our g/d is not in school, out of school hours etc.?

At the moment, we are questioning the value of the SGO simply because 'the mother has rights' and it seems that they are exercised no matter what - what about our rights??

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Hi Cellbar,

Sorry it has taken me a few days to reply to your post.

First of all, here is a link to our SGO advice sheet. Lots of it won’t be relevant you as it’s about applying for an SGO, however pages 2-3 explain the effect of an SGO including how PR works in the context of an SGO. Also, here is our PR advice sheet for more general information.

As has already been said, SG’s can exercise their PR to the exclusion of other people who have it – in this case the parents. The parents still have PR however throughout the period of the SGO. I do not think the site saying an SGO “suspends it for the duration of the Order” is correct. The PR still exists and the parents can use the PR to access information – such as from schools and GP, and some decisions can only be taken if everybody with PR agrees (or the court makes an overruling decision). Parents can also make an application to court for the court to decide if they disagree with any decisions made by the SG.

I think it is great that you continue to freely share information from the school etc with the parents as they are entitled to it. However, as they do have PR, they are entitled to speak to the school/other agencies directly and they could ask the school to send reports to them directly. Just make sure the school know that there are restrictions in terms of contact – set times, supervised etc – so the parents can’t use their visits to the school as an excuse for more contact.

To answer your last point, I would say the SGO is not there to exclude the parents from their daughter’s life. The value of the SGO is so you can continue to protect your granddaughter and provide her with a stable home in the way that you have done for the last 5 years.

Best wishes

Suzie