Passport, School Enrolment and GP Registration as a Special Guardian

Your SGO Gives You Real Authority — With a Few Limits

Once you have a Special Guardianship Order, you hold enhanced parental responsibility under Section 14C(1) of the Children Act 1989. You can exercise PR to the exclusion of the birth parents on almost all decisions about the child's upbringing, education and healthcare. That includes enrolling them at school, registering them with a GP, and consenting to medical treatment.

But "almost all" matters. There are specific situations where even an SGO doesn't give you unilateral authority, and passport applications are one of them.

Passport Applications

The special guardian's consent is required for a child's passport, and the sealed SGO is evidence of your authority. Birth parents retain PR under an SGO, but cannot exercise it to override the special guardian's decision.

In practice, this means:

• Submit the application with your consent and include a copy of the sealed SGO as evidence of your status.
• If the birth parent objects or can't be found, their consent is not required solely because they retain PR under the SGO. If a later court order restricts passport issue, follow that order.
• If you're taking the child abroad for less than three months, your SGO allows this without the birth parent's consent. For trips exceeding three months, you need either written consent from everyone with PR or a court order.

The travel restriction is in Section 14C(3)(b) of the Children Act 1989, subject to the exception in subsection (4): a special guardian cannot remove the child from the UK for more than three months without consent or court leave.

Keep a certified copy of your SGO with you whenever you travel abroad with the child. Border officials may ask to see it, particularly if the child has a different surname.

School Enrolment

This is straightforward with an SGO. You have full authority to:

• Choose and apply for a school place
• Accept or decline an offered place
• Sign all school forms, including consent for trips, photographs and activities
• Attend parents' evenings and access the child's school records
• Participate in SEN processes, including Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments
• Make decisions about religious education and collective worship

When you enrol the child, bring a copy of the SGO. Schools are familiar with these orders and will record you as the person with parental responsibility in their systems. The birth parent retains a right to receive information about the child's education (unless the court has specifically restricted this), but they cannot override your decisions about which school the child attends.

If the child is already enrolled at a school and you want to move them, you have the authority to do so. Give the current school notice, apply to the new school, and transfer. The birth parent cannot veto this.

GP Registration and Medical Consent

Register the child with your local GP by visiting the practice with the child and a copy of your SGO. The practice should update their records to list you as the person with parental responsibility.

With an SGO, you can consent to:

• All routine medical treatment, vaccinations and dental care
• Mental health referrals and CAMHS assessments
• Prescriptions, including for teenagers
• Emergency medical treatment
• Planned operations and procedures

The only medical consent you cannot give is consent to the child's adoption or placement for adoption — but that's an extreme scenario outside normal healthcare.

If the child has complex medical needs, ask the GP to add a note to the child's records confirming your SGO status. This prevents any confusion if you attend A&E or an out-of-hours clinic where staff aren't familiar with your situation.

Other Everyday Decisions

Your SGO covers virtually everything else you need for day-to-day parenting:

• Opening a bank account for the child — bring the SGO and your ID
• Applying for Child Benefit — you have priority as the person the child lives with
• Registering for Healthy Start vouchers or free school meals
• Consenting to extracurricular activities, clubs and sports
• Accessing the child's records — school, medical, dental

Other statutory limits include changing the child's surname, removing them from the UK for more than three months, consenting to adoption or placement for adoption, and appointing another guardian. For a name change, you need the written consent of everyone with PR or a court order.

Our SGO Process Guide includes a practical authority checklist showing exactly what you can and can't do with an SGO — useful to keep in your household binder alongside a certified copy of the order itself.

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