Your child may be able to get a personal budget as part of their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This will depend on their assessed needs.
Personal budgets
A personal budget:
- is an amount of money or resources that’s allocated to meet the outcomes agreed in your child’s EHCP if our Local Offer services do not meet them
- can be for education, health or social care
- has restrictions on what’s available and how it can be spent
- can give you more flexibility and choice to meet your child’s needs
For social care, a personal budget is an option when we’ve carried out a social work assessment that:
- identifies your child has needs that require a social care package of support
- is agreed to at a Short Breaks Panel
Find out more about SEND social care support
For education provision, a personal budget is only an option once your child’s EHCP is drafted, reviewed or reassessed.
This means that you:
- are responsible for arranging services to meet your child’s assessed needs as outlined in their support plans and paying for those services
- can choose who provides care or support for your child and when it’s provided
- decide how it’s provided, for example, by employing a personal assistant or accessing suitable activities in the local area
You can contact the SEND team for more information on personal EHCP budgets.
For health provision, children and young people who are getting continuing care may be able to access support with a personal health budget.
You can choose to receiver your personal budget as direct payments.
Direct payments
Direct payments are regular one-off payments we make to you instead of providing a service.
You are responsible for arranging and paying for services to meet the assessed needs of you and your child. This allows you to:
- choose who provides care or support
- when that care and support is provided
- how care and support is delivered
Direct payments are not considered as income when you’re assessed for welfare benefits.
This means the money you receive from direct payments is ignored in the benefit calculation. The Inland Revenue will not consider direct payments as part of your taxable income.
Read our guide to direct payments for parents and carers: