SGO

[EDF54R]

I am now caring for my great granddaughter been nearly 1yr, my daughter as the SGO now social services have told her to dismiss it, and the SGO will have to send to me. How do I apply and who too please any help is appreciated

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear EDF54R
Welcome to the Parents’ Forum. My name is Suzie and I am an online adviser.
Please accept my sincere apologies for the late response to your post. Having reviewed your post and the contents it was felt that the post is more relevant for our kinship carers forum, which is specifically set up for family and friends caring / seeking to care for a child who is not their own.
I therefore previously sent you a private message to advise that we would have liked to move your post to the Kinship carers' forum before responding. We believe you would get better responses and support from other users who may have similar experiences and advice to share. You can view the Kinship carers' forum here: Kinship carers’ Forum
Unfortunately, the two forums are independent of each other, so there isn’t a direct way to move a post or user from the Parents’ forum to the Kinship Carers’ forum but you would have to register with the Kinship carers’ forum directly.
As you may not have seen that message yet I will on this occasion respond to your question here but would recommend you register with the kinship carers’ forum for any further advice you are seeking.

You do say that you have been caring for your great granddaughter for almost 1 year now. You do not say why your great granddaughter is now living with you.
Your great granddaughter is subject to a Special Guardianship order (SGO), which was granted to your daughter. I can only assume the care arrangement with your daughter being the SGO carer has for some reasons broken down.

Your daughter has been advised by children’s services (also known as social services) to dismiss the SGO and for this to be send to you.
I believe what they mean is that the SGO to your daughter should be ended (discharged). As it is a court order, it can only be ended by a court if they agree to end the order. Your daughter would have to apply to end the SGO; but it does require a court application to formally revoke it. Only the court can discharge the special guardianship order. Applying to end a special guardianship order is a private law application – you and your daughter can get more advice on this from Child Law Advice.

In terms of you becoming your great granddaughter’s Special Guardian you would have to be formally assessed and ultimately the court would have to decide as to whether it would be in your great granddaughter’s best interest to remain in your care under a Special Guardianship order. As your great granddaughter’s parent (s) still hold parental responsibility for her they would need to be consulted too. Depending on the specific circumstances it is likely that the court would want to know if the parent (s) may now be able to care for their child (circumstances may have changed since the original SGO was made).

Considering the placement with her original SGO carer has broken down your great granddaughter should be identified as a child in need and children’s services should support her, you and your daughter in the current circumstances and with the further process of securing a permanent care arrangement for your great granddaughter.

I hope this is helpful.
Suzie