How to contact us for advice

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Our advice service

Are you a parent, kinship carer relative or friend of a child who is involved with, or who needs the help of, children’s services in England? We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.

Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.

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By phone or email

To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.

Discuss on our forums

Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.

Advice on our website

Our get help and advice section has template letters, advice sheets and resources about legal and social care processes. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, you can use our webchat service to chat online to an adviser.

 

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Special guardian

A special guardian is someone who has been granted a special guardianship order to provide that child with a permanent home until they reach 18. They are not the child’s parent, but they are the child’s main carer, who will raise them into adulthood.

Unlike adoption, the special guardianship order does not remove parental responsibility from the parents. But it does give the special guardian ‘exclusive’ parental responsibility. This means that when decisions need to be made for a child, the special guardian should still consult with the parents. But the special guardian has the final say and can make decisions that the parents do not agree with.

For more information see our advice pages on:

Kinship carers

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