• Any guardian of the child
• A local authority foster carer, with whom the child has lived for one year immediately preceding the application
• Any person who is named in a child arrangement order as a person with whom the child is to live
• Any person with whom the child has lived for a period of at least three years (which need not be continuous, but must not have begun more than five years before, or ended more than three months before, the making of the application)
• Any person who has the consent of each person named in a child arrangement order as a person with whom the child is to live
• Any person, where the child is in the care of a local authority, who has the consent of that authority
• Any person who has the consent of each person who has parental responsibility for the child
• A relative with whom the child has lived for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the application
• Any other person (other than a parent) who has obtained permission from the court to make the application
• Special guardians must be at least 18 years old. Individuals can apply alone or jointly with one or more people. Couples don't need to be married
• Birth parents can't be special guardians

You can be a:

• Family friend
• Unrelated foster carer
• Grandparent
• Aunt or uncle
• Brother or sister
• Other relative

The most import thing is the applicant’s connection with and existing relationship to the child. For this reason, the child would usually have been living with the applicant for a minimum of twelve months prior to the application for special guardianship being made. As there are variations to this depending on individual circumstances applicants should seek legal advice or contact the SGO Support Social Work Team for advice.

There are some instances where a child has lived with the applicant for a shorter period, but a special guardianship order is still felt to be the preferred option for providing a child with a permanent home. In such cases applications may be made before twelve months, but this requires:

• The consent of the birth parents who hold parental responsibility, or
• ‘Leave of court’, or
• For a child who is currently looked after, the local authority agreeing this as the permanency plan for the child