Court orders – what they mean
Care Order
A Care Order is a court order that puts you in our care. We must then give you a safe place to live where you are properly cared for. We will also make most of the important decisions about your upbringing, such as where you will go to school.
The court will make a Care Order if you have been:
- Suffering, or would be likely to suffer significant harm if you stayed with your parents
- Caused harm by your parents
- Caused harm because your parents were not caring for you properly
Or, if you are likely to suffer harm because your parents cannot safely control you.
A Care Order lasts until you are 18.
Special guardianship order
Your foster carer(s) can ask the court for a Special Guardianship Order when they have been looking after you for at least a year.
A Special Guardianship Order is not the same as being adopted or fostered. Being looked after under a Special Guardianship Order means that you are no longer in care.
Your carer will have legal responsibility for you and can make important decisions about your upbringing. A Special Guardianship Order lasts until you are 18 years old.
Adoption Order
An Adoption Order gives full parental responsibility to your adoptive parents. We and your birth parents will not make decisions about your life any more. Your new parents will be your permanent, lifelong family from the date of the Adoption Order.
Placement Order
Before you are adopted, you may hear about a Placement Order. The court lets us find adoptive parents for you and lets you live with them until the Adoption Order is made.
Residence Order
A Residence Order will set out where you will live and who you will live with. Your carer and your parents will share responsibility for your upbringing.
A Residence Order will mean that you are not looked after by us any more and we will not take part in making decisions about you and your future. This order lasts until you are 18 years old.
Accommodated
Being ‘accommodated’ (sometimes called Section 20) is when your parent(s) ask us to look after you because they can’t.
They are still responsible for you and make all the decisions about your life. They can take you home whenever they feel they are able to look after you again. This doesn’t involve a court.