Ending a SGO

Tryinghard69
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 8:19 pm

Ending a SGO

Post by Tryinghard69 » Sat Apr 30, 2016 3:59 pm

Hello - please can anyone help me? We are coming to the end of the road on our SGO. We took it on nearly 4 years ago and think it would be best for our own family to end the placement. I know people will be really kind on this Board and try and persuade me not to go down this route - your comments are well meaning but PLEASE do not answer with them as that is not what I need at the moment.

What I really need is some guidance on the process for ending a SGO. If anyone can help please respond.

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MandyLou
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Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 10:23 am

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by MandyLou » Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:20 pm

Hi
A special guardianship order can be changed or revoked by the courts. You will need to apply to the courts. Best option is to go back to the court which granted the order and ask for their advice on the correct forms etc. I'm sure other people may know the right forms but the court office have been helpful in our case.
Obviously decisions will have to be made as to where the child / children should live, so I would think social services would get involved. It sounds like you are really at the end of your tether. I hope you can find a path which is good for you and the child / children involved.
Good luck. Look after yourself.

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
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Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:25 pm

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Tue May 03, 2016 12:42 pm

Dear Tryinghard69

Welcome back and thank you for your post.

I am sure that ending the special guardianship order (SGO) is something that you would have given a lot of thought to before reaching your decision. YOu have had supportive posts from Mandylou and ied53.

Have you involved children services regarding your intention to end the SGO? If the birth parents are still not able to parent the child then they may decide to apply to the court for a care order so they can make decisions about the child. It would be for children services to safeguard the child and may decide to apply for an emergency protection order as soon as the court discharges the SGO otherwise it will be only the mother or both parents who have parental responsibility. Children Services may need to share parental responsibility in order to make decisions about your niece and where she will live.

In order to end the SGO you will need to make an application to court to discharge the order. The application is made under section 14D(1) Children Act 1989. As suggested by Mandylou, in response to your post, making the application to the court where the SGO was made would be best. However, if this is not possible, you can apply in your local family court. You will be able to get the appropriate forms from the court.

I think it will be helpful for you to contact this service for more advice on what will be a private law application.

I hope you will find this helpful and hope that the court proceedings to discharge the SGO will go well. You made a decision to help and support your niece and it must be a situation where you feel no longer able to do so that has brought you to this point. Your niece will no doubt have benefited from the stability she has had with your family.

Should you wish to speak to an adviser about the SGO, please do telephone our advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30 a.m. to 3.00 Monday to Friday.

Best wishes

Suzie

Celle
Posts: 76
Joined: Thu Oct 24, 2013 11:26 pm

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by Celle » Sun May 08, 2016 3:22 am

I don't know the circumstances and I'm not offering any advice. I just want to say that I'm sorry the SGO hasn't worked out for you and the child. I'm sure you didn't come to this decision lightly.
Best wishes.

Tryinghard69
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 8:19 pm

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by Tryinghard69 » Wed May 18, 2016 8:42 pm

Thank you so much for your helpful responses. We are still on the brink of our decision. It has been a difficult 4 years with absolutely no support from anywhere. Our niece was placed with us and we have been left to cope with family imploding around us. We have our own young children, the youngest of whom is very close in age to our niece, and we are juggling their needs with that of a little girl who hasn't had the best start in life. No support from statutory services (she isn't 'bad' enough), no support from family (they are all grieving that 'their' little girl has been taken from them and try and pressure us into letting her see her birth mother when we don't agree it is the right thing to do - this also means that my own children have lost contact with their grandparents and extended family), no support at all from the placing local authority (which is in a totally different part of the country from where we live), no financial support from anywhere (I work about 45 hours a week to support a stay at home husband, 3 of my own children and also my niece - my income therefore means we don't qualify for any financial assistance from anywhere).

If we could think of a suitable placement for her the SGO would be at an end - the reality is probably one of foster care for her and whilst there are brilliant foster carers out there, we all know it isn't happy ever after once you enter that system. The irony is that foster carers would be paid to do the job that we are doing for free!

Still don't know how this going to end.

Poppingsmary
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2017 2:32 pm

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by Poppingsmary » Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:11 pm

Hi, i am also wanting to Terminate an sgo order, same as yourself, I've received no help in any way, once The order was made he was basically left with me n for us to figure it out, I'm a single parent already had 2 children when my nephew of age 1yr was giving to me with only previous meeting him once as a baby due living on opposite sides of the country, he is now 4 and me and his mother both feel he and she are ready to be together again but had no idea on how to move forward on this, so thank you for your comments to this query also

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
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Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:25 pm

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Mon Dec 18, 2017 1:18 pm

Dear Poppingsmary

Thank you for posting again on the discussion forum. I see that you posted last month and although you received a response to your earlier post from ied53 you did not receive a formal welcome to the forum.
Welcome to the Family and Friends Carers discussion forum. My name is Suzie, online adviser at Family Rights Group, and I see from your post that you still have some concerns as to how to move forward regarding the special guardianship order made in your favour 3 years ago.

It is very concerning that you state in your post that you nephew was placed in your care and you received no support at all from children’s services during the time he has been in your care. From your earlier post it appears that your nephew was a looked after child prior to being placed in your care and, as such, a support package should have been considered at the time of your assessment and this should have included a financial assessment to ascertain the allowance your would receive under the special guardianship order. You may wish to consider asking the local authority that was responsible for placing him about the allowance you should have received. You might find it helpful to read our advice sheet relating to Support for relatives and friends who are looking after someone else’s child .

Turning now to your post regarding your nephew returning to his mother’s care. As previously advised, as there is a court order in place to formalise the arrangement it would be necessary for the matter to be determined by the court. Either you or the child’s mother can make an application to the court to discharge the special guardianship order. The court will request a report from either your local authority or Cafcass on whether it would be in your nephew’s interests to discharge the order.

A copy of our advice sheet about what a special guardianship order means for birth parents is here for your information. I am also including a copy of our advice sheet about special guardianship – information for family and friends carers. The advice sheet relates to making an application for an order but there is also information on page 9 about ending a special guardianship order and other useful information for a special guardian.

If you do decide the make an application to the court, it will be a private law application and you can obtain further advice about the court process from Coram Children’s Legal Centre (Child Law Advice) on 0300 330 5480.

I do hope you will find this helpful. However, should you wish to speak to adviser about your position as a special guardian, you can telephone our advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday (except Bank Holidays).

Best wishes

Suzie

Cazdob
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2019 8:49 am

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by Cazdob » Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:01 am

I too am trying to discharge my grandchildren whom I have had for 4years now. My argument is that there mother's social worker has phoned me and told me that I can just hand the children back to her without it going to court. Surely we must go back to court that issued the sgo so as to make it legal. There mother has got 2of her other children back from foster care plus she has had another baby and it is badly affecting my grandchildren not all being together.

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Robin D
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Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 1:58 pm

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by Robin D » Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:14 am

Hi @Cazdob and welcome here.

I believe the social worker to be mistaken. It seems clear from the legislation that the SGO must be discharged which can be applied for either by the person holding the SGO or the parent. However, if you, the social worker and the mother are all happy to trial a return to living with mum, then I should have thought it reasonably safe to proceed.

That said, personally I would contact the social worker and ask for their consent to a trial return for say three months in writing and asking what support they are putting in place to support mum and the children. Should it all go terribly wrong, it's amazing how they can back down from something you know was said verbally. Also SW's change frequently, you don't know what would be written in the records and, to cap it all, you have no absolute evidence that the person who phoned you was the social worker. Like to guess who would have the finger pointed at them?

If the trial is successful after a sensible period you can then apply to the court to formalise the situation.

Should you feel you are being bamboozled by mum, then your first duty is to protect the children.

Another consideration is that the children must not feel you are rejecting them, or that they have done something wrong. The move must therefore be carefully managed to transfer the love, care and attachment you currently have with them to mum as you slowly return to being a grandparent.

Hopefully something can be worked out you are all happy with, but as part of a plan agreed and supported by the authorities. I'm afraid you need to protect yourself as well.

Best wishes ..... Robin
Former F&F carer, foster carer, adopter and respite carer for umpteen children. Now retired and when with kids, making sure they 'go home' at the end of the day.

Cazdob
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2019 8:49 am

Re: Ending a SGO

Post by Cazdob » Fri May 01, 2020 11:44 pm

Thanks. I have been letting the grandchildren have weekends with mum and everything is fine with them. I just wanted to clarify ifwhat the social worker was saying was true. I don't want my relationship with their mum to break down I just want her to know that we have to go back to court,which she can't seem to take in. Her social worker and her previous one both said that I don't need to go back to court and if we can come to an amicable agreement this is fine. I thought they are supposed to know all of these things. The children desperately want to be all together with there siblings. I would have them forever but it hurts me to see them so upset.

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