Personal budget policy for children and young people aged 0 to 25 with special educational needs and their families

The following document sets out our policies in relation to the:

• Children and Families Act, 2014 (section 49)
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014
• Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014
• Community Care, Services for Carers and Children’s Services (Direct Payments) Regulations 2009
• Statutory Guidance and Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disability 0 to 25 years, 2014.

It has been co-produced jointly by:

• Council Officers
• Parents and carers representing FACT Bucks
• The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB)
• School representatives via SENOPS and Bucks SENDIAS

Further work is required to ensure that the views of young people are incorporated into reviews of this policy.

This policy applies to the personal budgets of any child or young person with Special Educational Needs (SEN), who has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Children and young people without an EHC plan may also be eligible for a personal budget for health and social care, but not for education or home to school transport.

Please refer to the:

• Home to School Transport Policy (0 to 25 Year Olds)
• Social and Health Care Personal Budget Policy

All EHCPs will set out the outcomes sought for the child or young person, the provision to be provided to help the child or young person achieve those outcomes, and how these services will be provided.

In the context of the regulations and this policy a 'personal budget' is a portion of the money allocated to deliver those provisions where the child’s parent or young person will be involved in securing that provision.

Having a personal budget does not mean that the child or young person will receive extra funding.

A personal budget is not the same as a direct payment.

A personal budget can be arranged in 4 different ways:

• A direct payment, where the young person or parent or carer takes complete control of the funding.
• A ‘third party arrangement’, where the funding is paid to another individual or organisation to manage on the child or young person’s behalf.
• A ‘notional or virtual’ personal budget – the local authority and or ICB continues to hold the funding and make the arrangements, but the young person or parent/carer is more involved in decisions around it.

The parents or young person concerned have a free choice whether to take up any available personal budget.

We support personal budgets because they offer the prospect of better outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs.

The benefits of personal budgets can come about in several ways:

• Because of their flexibility personal budgets can allow greater personalisation of services to suit the individual circumstances and needs of children, young people and their families.
• Involvement in the management of a personal budget can be empowering for children, young people and families.
• Particularly for young people approaching adulthood, participating in the management of a personal budget can prepare them for more independence.
• Personal budgets can allow council funds to be augmented with funds from other sources (personal resources, charities and other grants) to address the needs of the children and families in a seamless way.
• The personal budget process promotes reliance on family, community and mainstream solutions which reduce the reliance on statutory services, and which very often result in improved outcomes.
• By tailoring purchases of goods and services more closely to individual needs, personal budgets can reduce waste and increase value for money.

We encourage all involved with personal budgets to think widely about how financial resources can best be used in innovative ways to help children and young people reach their goals.

The Council and NHS Commissioners jointly commission a number of integrated health, education and social care services which are delivered in education, community, clinics and domestic settings.

Joint commissioning is a requirement of the Children and Families Act 2012 for CCGs and the Council to work together to achieve integrated SEND provision through joint planning and commissioning of services.

Currently, these services include Integrated therapies, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), residential short breaks and community equipment. These services are delivered by the private sector, the voluntary sector or NHS trusts.

We will review the commissioning arrangements in these areas at the earliest possible time with the aim of adding the flexibility to allow parts of the funding to be transferred to a personal budget while remaining fit for purpose.