Right to Request
A young person or child’s parents have the right to request a Personal Budget connected to their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). It can be requested when an EHCP needs assessment has been completed and Achieving for Children (SEND Team) have confirmed that it will prepare an EHCP. It can also be requested during a statutory review of an existing EHCP.
What is it?
A Personal Budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver the provision set out in an EHCP where the parent or young person is involved in securing that provision. The funds can be held directly by the parent or young person or may be held and managed on their behalf by the local authority, school, college or other organisation or individual and used to pay for the support specified in the EHCP.
Why?
The needs of the individual child and young person should sit at the heart of the assessment and planning process. Planning should start with the individual and local authorities must have regard to the views, wishes and feelings of the child, child’s parent or young person, their aspirations, the outcomes they wish to seek and the support they need to achieve them. This personalisation should enable children, young people and parents to have more control over decisions about their support including the use of a Personal Budget for those with an EHCP.
When?
The child’s parent or the young person has a right to request a Personal Budget, when the local authority has completed an EHC needs assessment and confirmed that it will prepare an EHCP.
They may also request a Personal Budget during a statutory review of an existing EHCP. Reviews must be undertaken in partnership with the child and their parent or the young person, and must take account of their views, wishes and feelings, including their right to request a Personal Budget.
How?
If you would like a Personal Budget, your SEN Coordinator at Achieving for Children will make a referral to the SEND Support Service at Kingston Centre for Independent Living (KCIL). This referral should include an indicative budget as an indication of the level of funding that is likely to be required to make the provision specified, or proposed to be specified, in the EHCP.
As an impartial advisor our SEND Support Service can work with you to develop a person-centred Personal Budget Support Plan to calculate how the funding will be used (Section J) to deliver the outcomes and provision as identified in the EHCP (Section E and F).
Section J can be added by the SEN Coordinator to the draft EHCP to be discussed at Achieving for Children (SEND Team) SEN Panel. If agreed our SEND Support Service and your SEN Coordinator will work together to liaise with the finance team to set up the payments with an agreed contract. This contract details the terms and conditions for the direct payments, please see dos and don’ts section.
How can it be managed?
The funds can be paid directly to the parent or young person to employ those providing the support. The funds can also be held and managed on their behalf by another organisation or individual.
Our SEND Support Service will help you to manage this Personal Budget including; finding providers, setting up contracts, insurance, payroll and invoice monitoring. The budget will run for the academic year unless detailed otherwise and reassessed at the statutory review meeting.
Dos and Don’ts
Those managing the Personal Budget must sign and complete all the relevant contractual documents and return termly monitoring forms and Bank Statements to the KCIL SEND Support Service. The direct payments for the Personal Budget can only be paid into a completely separate account with no other payments made into it and with no overdraft facility.
Those managing the Personal Budget must ensure the payments are not used to:
- employ any partner (married, unmarried or in a civil partnership) or any close relative living in the same house as you;
- pay for an activity or service that is for someone else;
- pay for household expenses such as food or bills, rent or mortgage payments;
- pay for anything illegal; or
- gamble or buy lottery tickets, raffle tickets, bingo, alcohol or cigarettes.