“Ward” derives from the same Norman-French root as “guardian”. A child may be made a ward of court so that the court can exercise its parens patriae (qv) or parental jurisdiction to make orders for the child’s welfare.

Wardship is now generally used only to fill the few gaps left by the wide spectrum of remedies in the Children Act 1989 or where children are allegedly abducted from states outside Hague Convention 1980 (see Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985).