Converting Kinship Foster Care to a Special Guardianship Order

Why Move From Foster Care to an SGO?

If you're a relative fostering a child through the local authority — whether under a Section 20 voluntary arrangement or a Care Order — you might be weighing up whether to apply for a Special Guardianship Order. Many kinship foster carers make this transition, and for good reason: an SGO gives you independent parental authority, removes the local authority's oversight of your day-to-day parenting, and provides permanent legal security for the child.

But it also changes your financial position, and that's where careful planning matters.

What Changes When You Move From Foster Care to an SGO

Gained:

• Enhanced parental responsibility — you make decisions about schooling, healthcare and upbringing without needing social worker approval
• No more statutory reviews, LAC (looked-after child) reviews, or unannounced visits from social workers
• The child is no longer "looked after" — they lose the looked-after child label, which some families and children find stigmatising
• Permanent legal security — the birth parent cannot simply ask the local authority to return the child
• More normal family life — you're the child's parent in practice and in law

Lost or changed:

• Foster care allowance stops — it's replaced by the discretionary, means-tested SGO allowance, which is often lower
• The child loses priority access to certain looked-after-child services (educational support, CAMHS priority, virtual school oversight)
• The "leaving care" entitlements at 16–25 may be reduced, though the Children and Social Work Act 2017 extended some support to children who were looked after before their SGO

The Financial Reality

This is the biggest concern for most kinship foster carers considering the switch. Foster care allowances are paid at the local authority's fostering rate — which is guaranteed, not means-tested, and includes additional payments for birthdays, holidays and clothing. The SGO allowance is calculated differently.

Under the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005, the local authority uses the national minimum fostering allowance as a starting benchmark, then deducts:

• Child Benefit
• Universal Credit child element
• A proportion of the household's net disposable income (the means test)

The result is almost always less than the foster care allowance. Some councils calculate generously; others strip the allowance down to a minimal top-up. The allowance is reviewed annually and can be reduced if your financial circumstances change.

Before agreeing to transition, ask the local authority for a written calculation of what your SGO allowance will be. Get this in writing, with the methodology explained. You're entitled to this under the regulations — don't accept a verbal estimate.

If your council is in one of the seven Kinship Zones pilot areas, you may receive a non-means-tested allowance at the full fostering rate, which eliminates the financial penalty entirely. But the pilot only covers Bexley, Bolton, Newcastle, North East Lincolnshire, Medway, Thurrock and Wiltshire.

How the Transition Works

If you're a local authority foster carer who has looked after the child for at least one year immediately before applying, you're entitled to apply for an SGO as of right under Section 14A(5) of the Children Act 1989 — you don't need the court's permission.

The local authority may actively support the transition. In care proceedings, the judge may identify an SGO as the appropriate final order (instead of a full Care Order or an Adoption Order). The local authority's care plan may recommend an SGO for the child.

If the transition happens within care proceedings:

1. The local authority includes an SGO assessment as part of the care proceedings
2. The Children's Guardian (Cafcass) provides an independent recommendation
3. The court makes the SGO as the final order, discharging the Care Order
4. The child's looked-after status ends on the day the SGO is made

If you're applying independently (private law):

1. Give three months' written notice to the local authority that is looking after the child
2. The authority must prepare the Section 14A assessment — they can't refuse because the child is in their care
3. File your application with the court after the notice period expires
4. The court considers the application in the usual way

The Support Plan Is Crucial

When a child moves from care to an SGO, the local authority must prepare a Special Guardianship Support Plan. This is your roadmap for ongoing support, and it's negotiated before the order is made — not after.

The plan should cover:

• Financial support (the SGO allowance amount, payment schedule, review dates)
• Therapeutic support — the child may be eligible for funding through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) for therapy, life story work or specialist assessments
• Contact arrangements with birth parents
• Education support — any ongoing needs previously managed by the virtual school team
• Respite care — some authorities offer this for complex cases

The local authority that last looked after the child retains financial responsibility for the SGO allowance for the duration of the order (until the child turns 18), even if you move to a different council area. For non-financial support services, responsibility transfers to your new council after three years.

Don't rush the transition. Take the time to negotiate a support plan that reflects the child's actual needs, and get everything in writing before the final court hearing. The judge will want to see the support plan before making the order.

Our SGO Process Guide includes a support plan checklist and budget worksheet specifically designed for kinship foster carers navigating the transition — including what to ask for before your allowance is finalised.

See more England guides →