Special guardianship orders (SGOs) were introduced in 2002 to provide a framework for permanent care where adoption was not appropriate where children were being cared for within their wider family, as Ellie was, also for older children who have enduring relationships with parents who cannot care for them. Approximately 7,000 SGOs are made each year, around 5,000 in child protection proceedings and 2,000 for children who are not in state care.

Special Guardianship differs from other orders for children’s living arrangements reflecting the permanence of the arrangement. 1) Parents cannot apply for the order to be discharged without first obtaining the court’s permission to make this application on the basis that there has been a change of circumstances. 2) Special guardians are entitled to exercise parental responsibility to the exclusion of the parents. Special guardianship arrangements do break down; Selwyn found that around 6% failed within 5 years of the placement but they are intended to last for the whole of childhood. Indeed changes have recently been made to assessments to ensure special guardians can provide this care.

There can be no question that Ellie’s parents could get permission to apply to have the special guardianship order revoked once the father was ‘exonerated’ by Mrs Justice Hogg. Yet the decision to revoke the order is extraordinary.

In the full blog Judith goes on to discuss how the Children Act 1989, s.1 requires judges making decisions about children’s upbringing to give paramount consideration to the child’s welfare - and should not be based parents’ rights.  And how failure at this level meant there was no justice for Ellie.