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Special Guardianship Order allowances explained
A Special Guardianship Order gives you parental responsibility for a child, not foster carer status - and that single change is what makes the allowance means-tested and discretionary rather than a fixed statutory rate.
Written by Sam Allcock · Last updated 24 August 2026
This page explains how SGO support generally works. It isn't legal advice, and specific decisions about your case are made by your local authority and, where relevant, the family court.
What a Special Guardianship Order actually is
A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is a court order that gives a carer, usually a relative, parental responsibility for a child until they turn 18.
It sits between fostering and adoption: the birth parents' own parental responsibility isn't removed entirely, as it would be with an adoption order, but the special guardian's parental responsibility takes precedence day to day, which is more permanent and more independent from local authority oversight than fostering.
An SGO is generally used where a child can't safely return home, but where the family court and social workers judge that a full adoption order isn't the right outcome for that child - often because there's an existing, valued relationship with birth family that an SGO can preserve in a way adoption doesn't.
SGO vs family and friends fostering: what changes
| What changes | Family and friends fostering | Special Guardianship Order |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Child remains looked-after; carer has foster carer status | Child is no longer looked-after; carer has parental responsibility |
| Local authority role | Ongoing formal supervision, reviews and support planning | Formal oversight ends; support becomes discretionary |
| Allowance basis | National Minimum Allowance, a statutory floor | Means-tested, local authority discretion; often uses the NMA as a starting reference point |
| How settled it feels | Reviewable, can change over time | More permanent, designed to last to age 18 |
Source: Kinship (kinship.org.uk), "Special guardians financial support and benefits," cross-checked 2025.
The honest picture on SGO allowance
SGO allowance, means-tested and local-authority-discretionary
In most areas, local authorities now use a figure close to the fostering National Minimum Allowance as the starting reference for an SGO allowance, then apply means-testing based on your household's income and circumstances.
Source: Kinship, "Special guardians financial support and benefits" ↗
Because the amount is discretionary, the single most useful thing you can do is ask your own local authority's children's services team directly what their current SGO support policy is, in writing, before you make decisions based on an assumed figure.
The financial assessment typically looks at your household income, though the exact method and any disregards vary by council - this isn't a detail we can standardise into one national number honestly, so we won't pretend otherwise.
The 2026 Kinship Zones pilot and SGO carers
From April 2026, the Department for Education's Kinship Zones pilot pays a new Kinship Allowance at the fostering National Minimum Allowance rate to kinship carers on the way to an SGO (or a "lives with" Child Arrangements Order) in seven pilot local authorities.
If your local authority is one of the pilot areas, this could mean a clearer, less discretionary route to NMA-level support while your SGO is being progressed - see our full page on the 2026 Kinship Allowance pilot for what's known so far.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Special Guardianship Order?
A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is a court order that gives a carer, usually a relative, parental responsibility for a child until they turn 18, without ending the birth parents' own parental responsibility entirely. It's designed for children who can't return home but where adoption isn't the right outcome, and it sits legally apart from fostering.
How is an SGO different from family and friends fostering?
Family and friends fostering keeps the child in the care system as a looked-after child, with the carer holding foster carer status and the local authority retaining a formal role. An SGO ends looked-after status and gives the carer parental responsibility directly, which is why support and allowances work differently once the order is made.
Is the SGO allowance the same as the fostering allowance?
Not automatically. In most areas the SGO allowance is now aligned to the fostering National Minimum Allowance as a starting point, but it's means-tested and set at your local authority's discretion, so what you actually receive depends on your household's income and circumstances, and varies by council.
Can SGO allowance be reduced or stopped later?
Yes - because it's means-tested and discretionary rather than a fixed statutory entitlement like the fostering NMA, it can be reviewed and adjusted by your local authority over time. Ask your council directly what their review process involves before you rely on a figure staying fixed.
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