Previously looked after children

A previously looked-after child in England and Wales refers to a child who is no longer under state care.

Routes

The child may have left care through one of the following routes:

Adoption Order (AO)

The legal order which gives adoptive parents full and permanent parental rights for their children.
Children must be living with their adoptive families for at least 10 weeks before the family can apply for the adoption order.

Special Guardianship Order (SGO)

This was introduced in 2005 as a way of providing children with a permanent family without severing legal ties with their birth families.
Special guardians can be family members, family friends, or foster parents.

Child Arrangements Order (CAO)

This court order regulates who a child lives with or has contact with. It includes details about the child's living arrangements and who they will live with.
Children may not necessarily have been looked after prior to being placed on a Child Arrangements Order.

Page last updated: 15 May 2024