Exploring Special Guardians’ Experiences of Supporting the Education of Children in Their Care: An Ecological Perspective

Astley-Marr, Jessica (2025) Exploring Special Guardians’ Experiences of Supporting the Education of Children in Their Care: An Ecological Perspective. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs) are increasingly becoming a route to legal permanence for children unable to live with their birth parents. The Department for Education (DfE) reports that 57.4% of children who have been looked-after continuously for twelve months (including those who leave care via an SGO) were identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN), and 30.2% have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). As such, children living under SGOs are more likely to have involvement from an Educational Psychologist (EP).

Limited research has explored how Special Guardians (SGs) understand the educational needs of the children in their care. This qualitative research adopts a social constructionist epistemology; seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight SGs to explore SGs’ perspectives. The data was analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021), using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) as a framework.

Three overarching themes were developed. Theme One: Children’s Experiences, Needs and Developmental Responses, outlined SGs accounts of children’s individual needs and experiences, including emotional regulation, learning, adaptation to school environments and trauma (Individual Level/Microsystem). Theme Two: Interactions Between the Child, Family, and School, the relational aspects of home-school communication, school-child relationships, SGs’ experience and knowledge and the impact of parental contact and SG well-being (Microsystem/Mesosystem). Theme Three: The Influence of Wider Systems and Life Events, which focused on wider professional support, legal and policy contexts, peer and community support and the impact of time (Exosystem/Macrosystem/Chronosystem).

The findings outline the complex and multi-layered nature of the systems around children living in SGOs and how these can impact education. Implications for educational psychology practice are considered both across the ecological levels and also within the role of the EP in consultation, assessment, training, systemic working, and advocacy and policy contexts

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	01 Jun 2026 13:33
Last Modified:	01 Jun 2026 13:33
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103222
DOI:

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