Education, Health and Care Plan Personal Budgets Questions and Answers

Q1: What role can SENDIASS (SEN and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service) have with personal budgets?

A1: SENDIASS can advise parents/carers and young people on how to request a personal budget for an EHC Plan and identify agencies who can help with the management of such a budget and provide personal assistants if appropriate.

Q2: What can a Personal Budget be used for?

A2: A personal budget could be provided if it was to be used for provision or services that would work towards meeting one or more of the outcomes listed in Section E of the EHC Plan. Examples include a personal budget for:

  • travel - to ensure the child or young person’s attendance at school or college improves
  • specialist equipment which can be used in the educational setting and at home
  • a personal assistant who provides learning support and personal care assistance
  • a block of therapy sessions which may not be available as part of the local offer e.g. art therapy

Q3: How can a parent apply for a Personal Budget in Rochdale? (at which stage in the EHCP process?)

A3: A parent can make a request at the same time as requesting an EHC needs assessment stating clearly what provision or service the budget would fund. At the ‘My Plan’ stage of the process the parent would be provided with an indication of the level of funding that is likely to be required to make the provision specified. The final amount of the personal budget would be confirmed when the draft EHC Plan was issued.

A personal budget can also be requested at every annual review of the EHC Plan. A parent can do this in writing or it can be recorded on the annual review paperwork which is completed by the school or college and sent into the local authority within 2 weeks of the review meeting.

Q4: How/ where do you find out how to spend it? Who is a contact for this?

A4: Your Education Officer should be able to advise you and Barnardo’s Independent Support Service (Telephone: 01706 515717). There are also third party organisations (brokerage services) that can broker services and provision on your behalf.

Q5: What if a parent is not able to understand the implications of a personal budget?

A5: A parent would be offered support with managing a personal budget. Some parents choose to use a third party organisation to manage the budget on their behalf.