Personal budgets for children and young people with additional needs

Personal budgets explained

A personal budget is the total amount of money needed to help the child or young person achieve the outcomes set out in their Education, Health and Care Plan. You can ask to know what the Personal Budget is when:

• During the Education Health and Care (EHC) assessment 
• During an annual review

Taking part in the decisions about how to use the Personal Budget

Parents and young people can request to take some of this budget as a direct payment and arrange some services themselves. This must be in agreement with the educational setting, social care or health agencies. 

Direct payments:

• Must be used to pay for services to help achieve the outcomes agreed in the  Education Health and Care (EHC) plan
• Can't be used to pay for a place in school or college

Help and support

For help and support parents and young people can speak to:

• Their Education, Health and Care Coordinator
• The Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service

Personal Budgets Policy 

See our Policy for Personal Budgets for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (PDF document).