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Special Guardianship Assessments
What is Special Guardianship?
Special Guardianship is an order that places a child to live with someone other than their parents on a long-term basis and gives them the same rights as the parents when making important decisions. The parents still have contact with their child and their rights remain in place, differentiating it from adoption.
Our team of qualified social workers at Parent-Help provides thorough and compliant special guardianship assessments. Anyone wishing to apply for a Special Guardianship Order is required to be assessed before they can go ahead with the application. These assessments are intended to determine whether an applicant is a suitable Special Guardian for the child.
They consider the needs of the child against the parenting capacity of the Special Guardian, determining what factors will affect the development of the child. The environmental factors that have shaped the life of the child so far will be considered, as well as those that could come into effect with the Special Guardian.
We aim to make our assessments fair so that the child gets the best possible outcome to support their future. We believe that all children deserve the best chance in life and this may well come if a Special Guardian is in place.
Our social workers carry out multiple visits, both with and without the child present, in order to gain a full view of the applicant and their relationship with the child. We know that these circumstances can often be difficult, so we take a sensitive and understanding approach.
If you are in need of a special guardianship assessment for a child or want to know more about how we can help do get in touch today. Our fully qualified team will be able to provide you with support and answer any questions you may have.
WHO CAN APPLY TO BE ASSESSED FOR A SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ORDER?
● A person who has a Child Arrangements Order
● A person who the child has lived with for three out of the last five years.
● A person who has the agreement of the Local Authority
● A person who has the agreement of all the people with parental responsibility for the child.
● A Local Authority foster carer or relative that the child has been living with for at least one year before the application is made.
● Anyone who has the court's permission.
● They will need to be 18 years old in order to apply for a Special Guardianship Order.
Length of Assessment
Generally speaking, Special Guardianship assessments should take at least 12 weeks to
complete however, this can be completed earlier based on availability and engagement from
all parties.
Contact us Today!
To find out more about our special guardianship assessments, call us today on 0207 101 4037 or simply email us at info@parent-help.co.uk.