Octa1711 wrote: Mon Nov 17, 2025 3:05 pm
Hello hope you can help.
I'm wondering how far in advance of court should I receive a copy of my special guardianship assessment and the support plan so that I can take it to a solicitor for legal advice? As my daughter (mother of my grandchild for whom I am seeking the SGO) has received a copy of my assessment and the final care order but I haven't even had chance to see the report or agree a support plan .. Is that usual? I have been told the local authority are recommending me as special guardian but I still want to see the fine print.
Dear Octa1711,
Welcome to the kinship carers’ forum and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am the online adviser for Family Rights Group.
If the assessment has been finished (and it sounds like it has been) then a copy should be provided to you as soon as possible. As you say, you need enough time to read through the assessment and support plan thoroughly and seek legal advice. I would suggest that you contact the social worker and their manager and ask for this to be sent to you urgently. You could also copy in your grandchild’s
independent reviewing officer so that they are aware of this issue. I would suggest that you put a timescale for when you would like to have received a copy of the assessment by – 3 to 5 working days is usually appropriate (but of course you can suggest otherwise).
If you do not receive the assessment despite doing the above then I would suggest that you submit a formal complaint asking for it to be sent to you as a matter of urgency. You can submit formal complaints by contacting the formal complaints team directly (usually via email or an online form on the local authority’s website). Please see
HERE for more advice and information about making formal complaints against children’s services.
Finally, if you continue to have problems with this then you could raise the matter directly with the court. From the information you have given I don’t think that you are a
party to proceedings but you could contact the court and make them aware of this issue (or you could even apply to become party to proceedings so that you can attend the court hearings yourself).
I hope that this is of some help. Please post again if you have any further queries or you can call our free, confidential adviceline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm). We also have a
webchat which is currently open on Monday and Thursday afternoons and an
advice enquiry form.
Best wishes,
Suzie
Family Rights Group adviser