As of September 2014 families and young people with Special Educational Needs are able to request a Personal Budget. The Personal Budget is comprised of education, health and social care elements and families now have the opportunity to formally request a budget with a view to redistributing funds to better meet the needs of the child or young person.
How to apply for a Personal Budget
Kingston Centre for Independent Living (KCIL) provides a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Brokerage Service across Richmond and Kingston. KCIL have brokers available to support families to broker their budget and develop a support plan. We will also support with implementation and employment support.
Personal Education Budgets/Element 3 Top Up Funding
Top Up (Element 3) refers to education funding in a mainstream school. Where a child has special educational needs, the school will receive additional money to meet these needs. Some children will have higher needs normally requiring individualised support and will receive further funding to meet the cost of these needs. It is this element that could be made available as a personal budget. Funds that are delegated to schools and colleges will not normally be in scope for inclusion in a personal budget, unless the institution has previously agreed to this. Personal budgets must not be used to fund a school place.
Personal Health Budgets
From April 2014 any child or young person receiving NHS funded Continuing Healthcare had the right to ask for a Personal Health Budget, and now has the right to have a Personal Health Budget. This right to request a Personal Budget was also extended to children and young people with an Education, Health and Social Care Plan or their parents under the Children and Families Bill 2014 (Clause 48) with effect from September 2014.
Find out more about the eligibility criteria for Personal Health Budgets (opens a link on the NHS England website)
Social Care Direct Payments
Direct Payments are already offered for some Social Care support services.
Find out more about the eligibility criteria for Social Care support services (opens a pdf document)
Personal Budget forms:
Personal Budgets Checklist for Eligibility Criteria (Word doc)
Personal Budgets Direct Payment Agreement (Word doc)
Guidance in the Golden Binder
A resource has been created by SEND Family voices working with AfC and representatives from Health, Social Care, Schools, Early Years and Post 16 to create a complete set of guidance documents relating to “Support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)”. The resource is nicknamed the “Golden Binder”. Every school SENCo and special school in Richmond and Kingston should have a copy, as well as all key professionals involved with the EHCP process. The resource relating to Personal Budgets can be downloaded here:
Personal Budget guides:
Personal Budgets Guide for Parents and Carers (pdf)
Evaluation of Personal Budget Brokerage Service
KCIL SEND Brokerage End of Year Report (opens a pdf)
Feedback about SEND Brokerage Service and Personal Budgets
KCIL is inviting feedback about the SEND Brokerage service.
If you are a service user who has asked for general advice and would like to give feedback please:
Feedback on the Survey Monkey site (opens an external website)
If you are a user who has accessed a Personal Budget please:
Feedback on the Survey Monkey site (opens an external website)
How to contact us or apply for a Personal Budget
If you have any further questions or wish to apply for a Personal Budget you can contact the SEND Team or the Personal Budget Broker below.
Sarah Cocker
SEND Support Broker
Kingston Centre for Independent Living
Tel: 020 8481 1442
Email: sarah.cocker@kcil.org.uk