Children who are no longer looked after by the Local Authority in England and Wales because they are the subject of an Adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangement Order.  (This currently does not included children who have been returned to home to parents after being in care by the Local Authority.

What is a Special Guardianship Order?

A special guardianship order (SGO) is a legal order given by a family court.  When you become a special guardian, the child will live with you until they are 18 years old.  You share parental responsibility with the child’s parents but can make nearly all major decisions about the child without the parents’ involvement.

 What is an Adoption Order?

An Adoption Order (AO) is the legal process through which a person or couple becomes the legal parents of a child who is not their biological child.  It typically involves a legal procedure that transfers parental rights and responsibilities from the child’s birth parents (or previous guardians) to the adoptive parents.

 What is a Child Arrangement Order?

A Child Arrangement Order (CAO) is a legal order given by a family court, and usually lasts until the child is 18 years old.  This specifies where the child should live and for what time frames.  You share parental responsibility with the child’s parents but can made day-t0-day decisions without parental involvement.  For any major decisions about the child, you must involve the parents.

Virtual Schools in Local Authorities have a duty to promote the educational achievement of previously looked after children in their area by providing information and advice to any person that has parental responsibility for the child, providers of funded early years education, designated teachers for prevously looked after children in maintained schoosl and academies.  Also to any other person the Authority considers approprirate for promoting the educational achievement of relevant children (for future details refer to Promoting the Education of Looked After Children and Previously Looked After Children Feb 2018).

Here in Nottingham City, we offer:

A dedicated Education Support Officer who is available to answer any questions, concerns or queries.

Signposting to training in relation to Previously Looked After Children

A range of resources available on our website to support those working with children in Previously Looked After Children.

Click here to download Nottingham City Virtual School’s previously looked after children flyer

Adoptive Parents

Support and advice specifically for adoptive parents can be found on the Adoption East Midlands website, click here
Tel:        0800 587 7791

Adoption East Midlands is holding a range of training, support and educational workshops in 2025, tailored and designed for adoptive parents to meet their child’s needs click here for more details

Other events run by Adoption East Midlands click here for more details