Daughter is on an sgo

[LM204]

My daughter is on an sgo. Guardian is threatening to cut contact to the point I won’t see her but there is no reason for this to happen, no danger no nothing, awaiting for it to get back into court but it’s taking a while what can I do in the meantime to try stop them cutting it?

[Winter25]

Hi LM204,

I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this. Situations like this are incredibly upsetting, especially when contact feels at risk while you’re waiting for court.

A helpful starting point is to remember that a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is not the same as adoption. A special guardian does have enhanced parental responsibility for day-to-day decisions, but that does not automatically give them the right to cut a parent out of a child’s life without good reason.

In most cases, contact arrangements are either:

set out in the original SGO order, or

based on what has become an established, settled routine.

For contact to be reduced or stopped, there would usually need to be a clear welfare reason or a significant change in circumstances. If there are genuinely no safeguarding concerns, no incidents, and no evidence of risk, then a sudden threat to stop contact would be something the court would want to look at very carefully.

While you’re waiting for court, a few practical things you can do:

Put things in writing.
If contact is being threatened, calmly ask for the reasons in writing and confirm that you do not agree to contact being reduced. This isn’t about arguing — it’s about creating a clear record.

Keep communication calm and factual.
Avoid emotional language, even though this is incredibly hard. Judges tend to look very closely at how both sides behave during conflict.

Keep a simple contact log.
Note dates, what contact was agreed, what happened, and any reasons given for changes. This can be really helpful later.

Ask about SGO support or mediation.
Most local authorities have an SGO support service. You can contact them to explain that contact is breaking down and ask whether mediation or support can be offered while you’re waiting for court. If the guardian refuses reasonable support, that can be relevant later.

If contact is stopped altogether before your court date, you can ask your solicitor about making an urgent application to clarify or reinstate contact. The court’s focus will always be on your child’s welfare and emotional stability, not on one adult having control over another.

If you feel able to, it would help to know the following

What the current contact looks like,

Whether contact was ordered or informal,

And what reason (if any) the guardian is giving for threatening to stop it.
------------
For transparency, I’m not an official adviser, just a parent sharing peer support based on experience and i give advice. A solicitor will be best placed to advise on any urgent applications.
========

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

My daughter is on an sgo. Guardian is threatening to cut contact to the point I won’t see her but there is no reason for this to happen, no danger no nothing, awaiting for it to get back into court but it’s taking a while what can I do in the meantime to try stop them cutting it?

Dear LM204,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the parents’ forum.
I am Suzie, an online adviser for Family Rights Group replying to you today.
I am sorry to hear about the difficulty you are having re This must be very distressing for you. You point out that there are no safety concerns, and you do not see any reasons for the guardian’s decision to reduce the level of contact.

Contact with a parent is in a child’s best interests unless it is unsafe for any reason, and you have made a court application so that your daughter’s need for connection and contact with you is considered and her best interests prioritised but you are waiting for a date.

You want to know what you can do in the meantime to prevent contact being reduced further by your daughter’s special guardian.

Each local authority children’s services has a special guardianship social work support team. (Some local authorities call this the post-order team or permanence team). This team should offer support to parents of children in special guardianship in negotiating around areas of disagreement and guiding you to or providing mediation options.

The Family Rights Group advice sheet for parents of children in special guardianship is here.

The advice sheet details your legal options to maintain contact and also discusses mediation. Many different aspects of special guardianship are discussed. The most relevant parts on contact are on pages 7-8.

The level of support offered to support a special guardianship arrangement depends on how long ago the order was made and whether the child was previously looked after by the local authority.

If your daughter was previously looked after (in care) the children’s services department that was looking after her is responsible for providing support for three years. They are responsible for this three-year period even if she moves to live in a new area with their special guardian. After three years, the children’s services department in the area where your daughter now lives with the special guardian is responsible for providing all support, apart from financial help that was agreed before the special guardianship order was made.

If your daughter was not previously looked after (in care) the responsibility for any special guardianship support services lies with the children’s services department for the area where she now lives.

I would suggest that you approach the social work team responsible for special guardianship support services if you have not already done so. You could ask for a copy of the local authority’s friends and family policy. Many children’s services publish their polices and procedures on the procedures online website which you can link to here.

When I read your post, I wondered if there are any other family members or friends who could help with contact arrangements? Could anybody else help with the practical arrangements including pick up and drop off? Family group conference would be a way for the network around your daughter (extended family and/or friends’ network) to come together to explore ways they could support. You can read more about family group conference here. If you feel it could help you should ask the special guardianship social work support team to make a referral.

If you do not receive a helpful response from children’s services you could ask a manager to look into your request and/or consider making a formal complaint. The children’s services complaints process can be read about here.

Matchmothers are a peer support organisation that offer emotional support to mothers living apart from their children, and I wondered if this would be a useful website for you to check out. You can link to it here.

I hope this information was useful to you. Please feel free to post here again if you have further questions.
There are also many alternative ways to contact Family Rights Group if you seek further advice in the future:

• A free telephone advice line open Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 3pm (excluding Bank Holidays) on 0808 801 0366
• Easy-to-follow online information. Features include an A-Z, FAQs, films, ‘top tips’ and legal advice sheets;
• A webchat service where you can message an adviser online, who will help you find information and advice to support you.
• Complete the advice enquiry form to request an email response within 5 working days

Best wishes,
Suzie