Court orders

After hearing all the evidence and arguments from the Local Authority, Parents/Carers and the Guardian, the Judge will decide to make an Order or not.

The Judge will only make an Order if that is the last option, and that it is the best interest of the child.
 

Emergency Protection Order

The local authority, the NSPCC, a Police Officer or any other person can apply for an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) where there is an immediate risk of significant harm to a child. The local authority gets Parental Responsibility for the child. It only lasts a short time and everyone must go back to court quickly to apply for a different order or to let the child home.
 

Interim Care Order

This order allows the local authority to take children into care who are suffering from abuse or are likely to suffer abuse. The local authority shares parental responsibility with parents and this means that they have to involve them in the decision about their care. These orders are used when there is an assessment of the parent’s ability to care properly for their children.
 

Full Care Order

This order is usually made at the end of care proceedings. It sets out the final decision of the judge when they have considered all the evidence. This means that children are in care and will stay in care, although they may live with other members of their family.
 

Placement Order

A Placement Order gives authority to a local authority to place a child with prospective adopters. It can only be made in relation to a child who is the subject of a Care Order or where the threshold for a Care Order is satisfied or where there is no parent or guardian.
 

Supervision Order

Supervision Orders can be made within Care Proceedings. The Supervision Order places the child under the supervision of the local authority. It does not give Parental Responsibility to the local authority. A Supervision Order lasts for a maximum of one year and may be extended up to a maximum of 3 years.
 

Contact Order

A Contact Order means that the person who the child lives with must let them see the person named in the order. Where a child is the subject of a Care Order, there is a duty on the local authority to promote contact between the child and the parents.

Where the local authority considers that a child should be placed for adoption, there is a duty to consider contact arrangements.
 

Adoption Order

An Adoption Order transfers Parental Responsibility for the child from the birth parents to the adopter(s). An Adoption Order can be made where the Court agrees that adoption is in the best interests of the child.

Where a child has been placed for adoption by an adoption agency, the child must have been living with the adoptive applicants for a minimum of 10 weeks before an adoption application can be made.

The child, once adopted, is deemed to be the child of the adopter(s) as if he or she had been born to them. The new relationship continues into adulthood and throughout the lives of all involved. The child's birth certificate is changed to an adoption certificate showing the adopter(s) to be the child's parent(s). A child who is not already a citizen of the UK acquires British citizenship if adopted in the UK by a citizen of the UK.
 

Residence Order

A Residence Order gives Parental Responsibility to the person in whose favour it is made.

A Residence Order in favour of a relative or Foster Carer with whom a child is placed may be an appropriate outcome of a Permanence Plan for a Looked After Child.
 

Special Guardianship Order

Special Guardianship offers a further option for children needing permanent care outside their birth family. It can offer greater security without absolute severance from the birth family as in adoption.

Special Guardianship will also provide an alternative for achieving permanence in families where adoption, for cultural or religious reasons, is not an option.

Special Guardians will have parental responsibility for the child. A Special Guardianship Order made in relation to a Looked After Child and will replace the Care Order. The Local Authority will no longer have Parental Responsibility.