Personal budgets for Special Educational Needs (SEN) V5 DRAFT
This information is about Personal Budgets for parents/carers and children and young people with special
educational needs.
What is a Personal Budget?
A personal budget is an allocation of money identified to support an eligible child/young person to meet
their identified needs. The money must meet the outcomes specified in the Education, Health and Care
(EHC) plan. A personal budget can be managed in a number of different ways e.g. by way of a direct
payment. Children, young people and families have a choice regarding whether to request a personal
budget or not. (This depends on whether a child or a young person has capacity. See Guidance document
on the Local Offer website)
At this point in time a Personal Budget (PB) may consist of funding from Education, Health and Social
Care:
Education – the PB comes from the Element 3 ‘top up’ funding.
Health - Continuing Health Care
Social Care – Specialist provision as assessed by the Child Disability Team.
West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and the 3 Health Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will over
time look at increasing choice by accessing a wider range of budget areas. The roll out of Personal
Budgets will take place alongside the introduction of EHC plans and so from September 2014 children and
young people and families assessed as needing an EHC plan will have a right to request a personal budget.
In the future the Independent Lives organisation will be able to support parents with managing Direct
Payments.
There are statutory regulations which have been issued by the government about Education Personal
Budgets eg:
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A personal budget and in particular a Direct Payment cannot be made in respect of provision which will take place in a
school, post 16 institution or early years setting without the written consent of the head teacher, principal or the
person occupying an equivalent position.
The options for a personal budget within a specialist school may be more limited than that of a mainstream school as
the provision is more integrated.
The Parent/carer/young person will be responsible for ensuring the health and safety of any individual employed to
deliver all or part of the agreed provision detailed in a Direct Payment Agreement and that they are approved or
certified by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
Full regulations can be found in Department for Education regulations about Personal Budgets or in West Sussex LA’s
Policy Guidance document or in the Direct Payment Legal Agreement document
Parents or the young person must always be involved in planning the Personal Budget.
A Personal Budget for SEN is not the same as a Personal Budget for social care or health because a large
amount of special educational needs funding is already paid direct to the school, college or other education
setting to make special educational provision.
In the majority of cases, the SEN Funding that goes directly to school, college or other educational setting,
is sufficient to deliver the educational provision detailed in Part F of the EHC Plan.
A small number of children or young people may however be eligible for additional (“top up”) funding and
it is this element that may be used by parents or young people to secure provision themselves.
Who Can Have A Personal Budget?
 Parents of a child with an EHC plan, or a young person who has an EHC plan, can ask for a Personal
Budget.
 A young person with an EHC plan can ask for their own Personal Budget after the end of the school
year in which they become 16.
How can the Personal Budget be Delivered?
If you request a Personal Budget some of that Personal Budget may be used to buy services or support to
meet the outcomes in the EHC Plan. The parent or young person then needs to decide how to manage
that fund. There are four ways a parent/young person can be involved in securing provision:
 Direct payments – where parents or the young person receives all or part of the Personal Budget to
enable them to contract, purchase and manage services themselves
 An arrangement – where the Local Authority, school or college holds the funds and commissions
the support specified in the plan (these are sometimes called notional budgets)
 Third party arrangements – where funds (direct payments) are paid to and managed by an
individual or organisation on behalf of the child’s parent or the young person
 A combination of the above
Sometimes the Local Authority may not agree to pay a Personal Budget by Direct Payments. If that
happens the Local Authority should tell you why and you can request a review of that decision.
It’s easy to get confused by the difference between a personal budget and a direct payment remember:
Personal budget = I know how much funding is allocated to support my child’s or my individual Special
Educational Needs
Direct payment = one way of taking some of my Personal Budget (but not the only way)
What can a Personal Budget be used for?
A Personal Budget can only be used to secure the support set out in an EHC plan. This can include funding
for the special educational, health and social care support that will help to achieve the outcomes set out in
the Plan.
You can find out what can be included in a Personal Budget in the Local Offer https://westsussex.localoffer.org/. You can also ask the Parent Partnership Service parent.partnership@westsussex.gov.uk for
more information about this.
The government have stated that a Personal Budget cannot be used for:
 the funding of a placement at the school, college, or educational setting; or
 the general provision for children or young people, including those who need SEN Support (which
may be delegated by the Local Authority to schools).
A Personal Budget can include:
 any “top up” funding that is for provision specified in an EHC plan.
 It can also include support that is managed by the school or college – but only if the Headteacher or
Principal agree.
You can find out more about what can be included in a Personal Budget in Sections 9.110 to 9.118 of the
SEND Code of Practice. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
How much will I get if I have Direct Payments?
How much you get will depend on what has been set out in the EHC plan. So it will vary from one person
to another. If the Local Authority has agreed to make a Direct Payment it must be enough to pay for the
service or services specified in the EHC plan.
If I receive a Direct Payment what will I have to do?
 You will have to sign an Agreement with the Local Authority to receive the money;
 You will have to open and manage a separate bank account;
 You will have to keep records of money you spend;
 You will be responsible for negotiating terms of any contract with anyone delivering provision which is
to be paid for from the Direct Payment;
 You will be the employer of any person paid by the Direct Payments to deliver provision;
 You must act lawfully and within the terms of the Agreement with the Local Authority.
Where can I get further information, advice or support?
The Planning Co-Ordinator will be able to answer any further questions you may have about the Personal
Budget and/or Direct Payments.
You can see West Sussex County Council’s Guidance document on Personal Budget on the Local Offer
website https://westsussex.local-offer.org/.
The Parent Partnership Service can also give you:
 more information about Personal Budgets, including Direct Payments;
 advice on whether you may be able to get a Personal Budget and how you can apply for it;
 information and advice on local services, organisations, and resources that may be able to help;
 information, advice and support on what you can do if you are unhappy with the Local Authority’s
decision on your Personal Budget.