Personal budgets for children and young people with SEND

A personal budget can be used to arrange and pay for support that has been agreed for your child or young person.

Depending on needs, you can have a personal budget to pay for:

• special educational support
• health support
• social care support 

Personal budgets are:

• not an extra source of funding, but a way of drawing on funding that has already been allocated
• designed to give you more control and choice over how funding is spent
• optional, meaning you don’t have to have one

Personal education budgets

A personal education budget is available when a child or young person has an education, health and care plan (EHCP). 

• It can be used to pay for special educational provision in section F of an EHCP.
• It cannot be used to pay for a place in school or college.

Personal education budgets policy

Find out more in our Personal Education Budgets and Direct Payments Policy (PDF document).

How to request a personal education budget

You can ask our SEND Team for a personal education budget if your child has an EHCP, or if you are a young person with an EHCP.

You can do this:

• when we have completed an EHC needs assessment and have confirmed that we will prepare an EHCP
• during an annual review of an EHCP 

Personal health budgets

A personal health budget is an amount of NHS money that is allocated to support a child or young person’s health and wellbeing needs.

They are available for:

• children and adults receiving NHS continuing healthcare
• people with mental health problems who are eligible for after care services under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act
• people who meet the eligibility criteria for a personal wheelchair budget

The NHS website has more information about personal health budgets.

How to request a personal health budget

Speak to a member of your health and care team about personal health budgets.

Personal social care budgets

Children and young people with disabilities under 18 

Support is available to children who meet the eligibility criteria for a service from the Children with Disabilities Service.

After an assessment, a personal budget can be used to meet the outcomes identified in your child or young person’s support plan. 

Find out how to get an assessment for a child with a disability

Young people aged 18 years and above 

A personal budget is available to adults who have been assessed by the Adult Social Care Service. 

It is the amount of money that has been agreed to meet an adult’s care or support needs, after an assessment. 

Find out how to request an adult social care needs assessment

Manage your personal budget

There are 4 ways you can manage a personal budget.

Direct payments

Payments are transferred directly to you, to organise and pay for support yourself.

Notional budget

Wokingham Borough Council, an education setting or an NHS team holds and manages the payments, but you decide how they are spent.

Third-party arrangements

Payments are transferred to an individual or organisation that you have chosen. They hold and manage the payments on your behalf, but you decide how they are spent.

A combination of all 3

You can use a mix of direct payments, a notional budget and third-party arrangements to manage personal budgets.

More information and advice

Wokingham SEND information, advice and support service (SENDIASS) provides advice and support for children and young people with SEND. To find out more about the support they offer, visit the SENDIASS website.

For more information and advice about EHCPs and personal budgets, get in touch with our SEND Team.