Personalised education, personal budgets and direct payments
Personalised education
Personalised education ensures that every pupil is taught and supported in a way that meets their needs. For most children and young people this can be provided by their school or college without the need for additional resources.
For a few children and young people, extra support beyond the school’s resources will be needed, which will be described in an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This plan considers their hopes and aspirations and is carefully personalised to meet specific outcomes set out for them.
Personal budgets and direct payments
A personal budget is a sum of money that a young person or the parents of a child can use to pay for support to meet the needs and outcomes identified in their EHC plan. It allows you more choice and control in the way you are supported and who provides this support.
The SEND Team or your Keyworker can help you see what services are available. For further information and advice visit:
Who can request a personal budget?
Young people and parents of children can request a personal budget once Wigan Council has confirmed that it will prepare a EHC Plan. If you already have an existing EHC Plan or statement of Special Educational Need, you can request a Personal Budget at your annual review.
Not all families are eligible for a personal budget. Those that are eligible include children and young people in receipt of:
- A continuing care package
- A short break following a social care assessment e.g. a commissioned service or direct payments.
We aim to increase opportunities for personal budgets over time so keep checking this page for the latest updates. Also see SEND news and updates.
How will I get the money?
We will work with you to decide how your budget is managed. This can be done in a number of ways such as:
- A direct cash payment made to purchase and manage your support as detailed in your EHC plan
- Support arranged by either Wigan Council or Wigan Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
- A third party arrangement, where money is paid to an individual or organisation to manage the funds on your behalf
- A combination of the above.
Brokerage support (support to spend your money)
If a personal budget is agreed, you will be offered independent support to draw up a Personal Support Agreement, which will describe how you are going to use your budget to meet the outcomes agreed in the EHC Plan.