If your child or young person has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, you may be entitled to request a personal budget. A personal budget gives families greater flexibility and control over how specific services and support for their child are arranged and delivered.
What is a personal budget?
A personal budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver certain parts of the support outlined in your child’s EHC plan. It allows you to make decisions about how this funding is used to meet your child’s special educational, health, or care needs.
If you or your child are applying for an EHC plan for the first time, you should be informed about a personal budget by your EHC plan coordinator.
What can a personal budget be used for?
A personal budget can be used to fund services that are agreed as part of the EHC plan, including:
- education: specialist equipment, one-to-one support, or therapeutic services to help your child access education
- health: health-related services such as occupational therapy or speech and language therapy if they are part of the EHC plan
- social care: services such as personal care, respite, or community activities
Not all aspects of the EHC plan can be funded through a personal budget. We will work with you to determine which areas are eligible.
Children and young people with special educational needs and/or a disability (SEND) will attend a school or college where their needs can usually be met by the resources that the school or college have available as part of their Local Offer.
However, additional funding over and above the school or college place could be made available if an assessment has identified that the learning support needs can't be met within the school or college place funding.
Who is eligible?
Families of children and young people who have an EHC plan, or are in the process of getting one, can request a personal budget. It can be requested when the EHC plan is being drawn up or during an annual review of an existing plan.
To qualify for a personal budget:
- the support must meet the agreed needs and outcomes in the child or young person’s EHC plan
- the cost of the support must not go over the total budget agreed for the EHC plan, including the cost to the school, health services or the council
- the headteacher of the school the child or young person attends, must agree if the support takes place in that school
The amount available changes as the child or young person's needs change. It should be assessed yearly in the annual review of the EHC plan.
Types of personal budgets
You can choose how your child’s personal budget is managed. The options include:
- Direct payments: you receive the money directly to arrange and manage the support yourself
- Notional budget: the local authority or another service manages the budget and arranges services for you
- Third party arrangements: a third party manages the budget on your behalf, arranging and paying for the services
- A combination of methods: you can choose to have different aspects of your budget managed in different ways
How to request a personal budget
You can discuss a personal budget at any stage of the EHC process. To request one:
- contact the SEND team or your SEND caseworker
- discuss which elements of your child’s EHC plan could be funded through a personal budget
- agree on how the budget will be managed and ensure it meets your child’s needs
Support in managing a personal budget
We will provide guidance on managing a personal budget and can help you:
- understand what services and support can be included
- manage direct payments (if you choose this option)
- ensure that services are delivering the best outcomes for your child
What are the benefits of a personal budget?
- Flexibility - you can choose services that suit your child’s needs
- Control - you have a say in how the funding is spent
- Personalisation - the support can be tailored to your child’s specific needs and preferences
Direct payments
Direct payments are one way of managing the money you get for your child's care and needs.
You can choose to get money to buy the help you need instead of having it organised by us. This personal budget is given to you in the form of payments paid directly into a bank account.
You can also get direct payments in your own right if you are a disabled young person aged 16 and over, and if you are able to manage your payments alone or with help.
More information
To find out more about personal budgets or discuss how it could work for your child, please contact the SEND team.