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

When a statutory assessment of SEN commences and ahead of each annual review of an EHCP, we will provide general information on personal budgets.

This includes how they can be used and how they are managed.

If the statutory assessment concludes that an EHCP is appropriate and work commences on a draft plan or a proposed amended plan following an annual review, we will prepare an indicative funding allocation for the child or young person using one or more Resource Allocation Systems (RAS).

This is detailed in Section F of the Draft EHC Plan.

This will include provisional allowances for the following:

1. The amount to be paid by the Council to the school, post-16 institution, or special school.
2. The amount to be dedicated from the resources of the school, post-16 institution or special school to meeting the special educational needs of the child or young person.
3. For all contracted services to be provided to the child or young person, the total of any marginal payments made under the contract in respect of the child or young person, and that child or young person’s fair proportion of fixed contract costs.
4. For services provided by the Council directly, the child or young person’s fair proportion of the cost of providing this service.

The indicative funding allocation will be presented to the young person or parent at the time the draft EHCP is presented.

We will prepare a document which will contain:

• The indicative funding allocation to meet the needs of the child or young person
• A brief explanation of the methods used to calculate these amounts, and the inputs and assumptions made
• An explanation of the amounts included in the indicative funding allocation which are the child’s or young person’s share of centrally contracted services
• By deduction the maximum amount that would be available for transfer into a personal budget.

The document presenting the indicative funding allocation will be accompanied by a package of information about personal budgets.

This package of information will contain:

• This personal budget policy,
• the relevant Integrated Care Board (ICB) policy on personal budgets
• a description of the options for managing a personal budget, and
• sources of help available for considering and managing personal budgets, including brokerage services.

All this information about personal budgets will be discussed in person with the parent or young person by the EHC Coordinator, at their co-production meeting.

The EHCCo will also give details of organisations which provide advice about personal budgets and recommend that the young person or parent take up that advice.

The young person or parent has 15 calendar days after receiving the draft/proposed amended EHCP to decide if they wish to pursue a personal budget.

We will consider all requests for personal budgets within 10 working days. The personal budget request must detail what provision the funding request will be used for.

During the time between the presentation of the draft or proposed amended EHCP and the agreement of the final or final amended EHCP we will adjust the indicative funding allocation as necessary to ensure that the services appropriately target the outcomes in the EHCP, and that the funding of each element is sufficient to provide the service required.

We will update the young person or family of changes to the indicative funding allocation.

In the event of a material change in the indicative funding allocation the young person or family will be given the chance to change any decision previously made about a personal budget.

Some families may already be accessing personal budgets in terms of care or health needs, and these will continue throughout the statutory process and be incorporated, as relevant, in the final overarching EHCP if one is issued.