Thematic analysis of serious safeguarding practice reviews of children subjected to Special Guardianship Order (SGO): Qualitative document analysis

Abstract

Background: Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs) legally transfer parental responsibilities to a special guardian who will be responsible for the welfare and needs of the child/children. SGOs are commonly successful and stable for children. Known underlying risk factors for termination of SGOs are the child’s age when the order was created, the number of prior care placements, and SG's relationship with the child before the order. However, there are no available statistics on safeguarding concerns arising after SGOs are granted. Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) and Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (LCSPRs) were selected from the National Case Review Repository and were analysed using thematic analysis. These reviews examine how agencies collaborated to safeguard children who experienced significant harm, abuse, neglect or death. Aim: To thematically analyse SCRs and LCSPRs relating to serious safeguarding concerns post-SGO. Methods: Eleven SCRs and LSCPRs, focused on fifteen children with SGOs, were thematically analysed, coded using NVivo V.12 software. Results: Known perpetrators of child abuse were special guardians, partners of special guardians, and parents of the child. The themes were: Failure to Risk Assess, Court Decisions, ‘The Family is Better’ View, the Child’s Voice Not Heard, Absence of Support, Inadequate Support, Poor relationships between Special Guardians and Professionals, and Special Guardians’ struggle to maintain the SGO, spread across ‘Professionals’ Treatment of Children and Special Guardians’ and ‘Special Guardians’ Actions’ to distinguish themes relating to professionals’ or special guardians’ actions. Conclusions: The research highlights insufficient suitability assessments of special guardians, stemming from time constraints on care proceedings and the assumption that placement with the relatives was best for the child. Absent support plans and insufficient fulfilment of supervision orders contributed to special guardians struggles in supporting their child. Improvements needed include extending the 26-week assessment deadline, establishing robust support plans, and enhancing advocacy for children's voices.