Special guardianship orders

5. Support plan

The special guardianship support plan is an important part of the assessment. It:

specifies who is responsible for caring for the child or children
includes information on how you will meet their health, education, contact, emotional and behavioural needs
contains important information of who you can contact if you have any questions relating to your role as a special guardian
includes the names and contact details of relevant persons in the local authority

Review of the support plan

The local authority must review the provision of services within the special guardianship support plan. As a minimum, the local authority must make contact with special guardians at least once a year.

A telephone call may be all that is needed when:

there is an established and settled relationship between the guardian and the child
there are no worries, difficulties or concerns
the special guardianship arrangement is working well

No further advice, guidance or support may be required.

Alternatively, a social worker from the Permanence Team may arrange to visit the special guardian’s home. This could be where there is a complex package of support, or where a more robust review of the support plan is required.

During the review of the support plan, the local authority must take into account the same considerations as the original assessment.

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