How to Prepare for a Section 14F Assessment in Wales When You Don't Know What to Ask For

If you have given your three-month SGO notice under Section 14A(5) and requested a Section 14F support-needs assessment, prepare a written list of your household's needs and the services or financial help you want to discuss. The assessment is not a test you pass or fail. It informs the support plan and any financial support decision; the local authority must assess eligible support needs on request, but a particular allowance or discretionary grant is not guaranteed. Financial support is means-tested and local policy applies.

This is the step where most kinship carers in Wales lose money — not because the council is hostile, but because the carer did not know the full range of what could be discussed. A grandparent who asks for "help with costs" may have a less focused discussion than one who arrives with a worksheet covering financial support, respite care, specialist training, therapeutic intervention and family mediation, and asks separately about any discretionary help with initial costs or legal fees.

What the Section 14F Assessment Actually Covers

Under Section 14F of the Children Act 1989 and Regulation 5 of the Special Guardianship (Wales) Regulations 2005, Welsh local authorities must assess the support needs of anyone who requests it from these categories:

• The child who is or will be subject to the SGO
• The prospective or current special guardian
• The birth parents of the child
• Any child of the special guardian living in the household

The assessment must consider prescribed support services under Regulation 3: financial support, respite care, specialist training, therapeutic intervention, and family mediation. If the assessment identifies ongoing needs, the council must draft a written Special Guardianship Support Plan before the order is made and share it with you for comment.

Prescribed Services and Local-Policy Options

Most carers know to ask about a weekly allowance. The core prescribed support services are listed below alongside examples of financial help that depend on local authority policy:

How to Prepare: A Practical Approach

The assessment is a meeting with a social worker, usually at your home. It is not adversarial — the social worker is there to identify needs and write a support plan. But the quality of the plan depends entirely on the quality of the conversation.

Before the meeting:

Gather every piece of financial information about your household. The council will means-test the weekly allowance against your income and outgoings. Having the numbers ready — pension amount, any other income, rent or mortgage, utility bills, food costs, transport — means the assessment is based on reality rather than estimates.

Write down the child's specific needs. A child who arrived after trauma may need therapeutic support. A child with a disability may need home adaptations. A child who changes school may need uniform grants. The social worker needs concrete details, not generalities.

Use the table above to note which services or costs relate to your household and what you want to ask. If you are not sure, write "I need to know if this applies." The goal is to keep the discussion focused on your needs and the council's policy.

During the meeting:

Work through your list systematically. When the social worker covers a category, make sure you understand what the council's policy provides for that category. Ask for specifics: "What is the weekly allowance rate for a child of this age in this council?" "Is a settling-in grant available and what is the process to apply?" "What respite care options does this council offer?"

Ask whether the council follows a no-detriment principle for former foster carers. Bridgend County Borough Council, for example, provides a transitional supplementary allowance for carers who were previously approved foster carers, benchmarked against the fostering fee element at the point of the order. Swansea's FAFT team has a dedicated SGO Stability Panel. Ceredigion publishes explicit annual review pathways. These provisions vary by council, and the assessment is the right time to ask.

After the meeting:

You should receive a written draft of the Special Guardianship Support Plan. Read it carefully. Check that every category you raised is reflected in the plan. You have a right to make representations before the plan is finalised — if something is missing, write back and ask for it to be included.

The plan must be formally reviewed at least annually under Regulation 10. Keep a copy and note the review date. If your circumstances change before the annual review — income changes, the child develops new needs, you move to a different council area — notify the local authority promptly.

Who This Is For

• Kinship carers in Wales who have given their three-month notice and have a Section 14F assessment scheduled
• Grandparents, aunts, uncles or family friends who feel unprepared for the assessment meeting and want to know what to ask for
• Carers who had a previous assessment and suspect they were not offered every category of support
• Relatives who are preparing to request an annual review of an existing support plan and want to raise additional categories

Who This Is NOT For

• Carers who are represented by a solicitor for the SGO application — your solicitor should advise on the support plan, though many do not cover it in detail
• Carers in England — the English assessment process and the ASGSF operate differently from the Welsh framework
• Carers involved in public law care proceedings where the local authority is managing the support plan as part of the care order

What If the Council Says No?

If the council refuses to assess your needs, or the assessment omits categories you raised, or the support plan is inadequate, you have three formal routes:

1. Council complaints procedure. Under the Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) Regulations, you can lodge a formal complaint with the council's Social Services Complaints Officer. This is a two-stage process with defined timescales.

2. Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW). If the internal complaints process does not resolve the issue, you can escalate to the PSOW for investigation of maladministration or failure to follow statutory duties.

3. Judicial review. For systematic failures — a council policy that unlawfully excludes a category of support, or a blanket refusal to assess — an application for judicial review in the Administrative Court is the legal remedy. This requires legal advice and has strict time limits.

Most disputes are resolved at stage one. The key is having a written record of what you asked for and what the assessment concluded — which is why arriving with a prepared worksheet matters.

The Kinship Care in Wales guide includes a printable Section 14F assessment preparation worksheet with every support category, structured questions for the meeting, and a post-meeting review checklist. It is built for carers who want to walk into the assessment knowing exactly what to raise. Every purchase includes a full refund with no time limit.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Section 14F assessment happen?

The three-month written notice under Section 14A(5) triggers the local authority's suitability assessment and report for the court. A Section 14F support-needs assessment is separate and is carried out when an eligible person requests it. A current special guardian can also request an assessment after the order has been made.

Can I request a reassessment if my circumstances change?

Yes. The local authority must formally review your support plan at least annually. You can also request a reassessment at any time if there is a material change in circumstances — a change in income, a change in the child's needs, a move to a different council area, or a change in household composition. Write to the council's children's services team in writing, referencing Section 14F and asking for a reassessment.

Is the settling-in grant only available when the order is first made?

In most Welsh councils, the settling-in grant is a one-off payment intended to cover immediate costs when the child first moves in or when the order is granted — bedroom furniture, bedding, school uniform, car seat. It is rarely offered retrospectively. If you need it, raise it during the initial assessment. Some councils may consider a late application if you can demonstrate the need was not met, but this is discretionary.

What happens if I move to a different council area in Wales?

If the child was looked after by a local authority before the SGO was made, the originating council retains responsibility for your support plan for the first three years after the order. After three years, responsibility transfers to the council where you now live. If the child was not looked after, responsibility rests immediately with your new council. In either case, ask for a fresh assessment from the new council — do not assume the old support plan transfers automatically.

Does the assessment cover support for my own children living in the household?

Yes. Under Regulation 5, the assessment must consider the needs of any child of the special guardian living in the household — not just the child subject to the SGO. If your own children are affected by the new care arrangement (sharing a bedroom, needing emotional support, adjusting to a new sibling), raise it during the assessment.

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