Personal Budgets for Education

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Personal Budgets for education

Hackney Education considers requests for Personal Education Budgets on a case-by-case basis.

In section J of the Education Health and Care Plans, there will be a specified amount that could be a personal budget.

This amount is also specified in section F provision where it will be linked to the agreed outcomes in section E of the plan.

Hackney Education will consider and decide whether suggestions from families and young people are appropriate for a Personal Education Budget on a case-by-case basis.

Assessment, funding, and resource allocation are decided by a funding panel.

Schools funding and Personal Budgets

To agree an Education Personal Budget Hackney Education must have the agreement of the head of the setting where provision will be delivered.

If the school or setting is providing all the education provision then this is the same as a managed or notional budget. This means parents do not have to account for the funding spend because it is managed for them.

Mainstream schools receive funding for children with Special Education Needs (SEN) in three ways:

  • 'Base' (or pupil) funding. This helps pay for classrooms and buildings.
  • A 'notional' SEN budget worked out according to a nationally agreed formula. This normally pays for additional teachers or teaching assistants, specialist programmes and specialist services commissioned by the school.
  • “'Top-up' or High Needs funding allocated through the child or young persons Education, Health and Care Plan.


Find information about SEN Funding for schools in Hackney here.


It is the Government's view that funding to support Personal Education Budgets:

  • Could definitely come from funding provided from the “high-needs block” funding.
  • Could possibly come from funding managed by an education providers ‘base’ and ‘notional’ funding, but only where the Head Teacher is in agreement

In other words, there is no expectation that the school will release funding from its own budget, but there is the opportunity for a school to choose to do this if it is clear that this will be the best way to improve the outcomes for the child or young person as agreed in their EHC Plan.

If the request is turned down there may be a good reason. Parents and young people will be informed why it was not approved by the decision panel.

Special Schools funding and Personal Budgets...

Special school costs are normally based on agreed fixed classroom ratios and programmes of intervention. For this reason it would not normally be possible to release any 'top-up' funding for an education Personal Budget for a child in a special school.

Speak with your EHC Plan Coordinator or Hackney SENDIAGS if your child or young person is at a special school and you are thinking about a Personal Education Budget. 

What role does the Plan Coordinator play in Personal Education Budgets?

EHC Plan coordinators are involved in:

  • Decision-making. Helping parents and young people decide whether a direct payment or managed personal budget is right for them.
  • Challenging the size of a personal budget. The plan coordinator may feel that a person’s personal budget is insufficient to meet the needs of a child or young person, in which case they would take the case to a funding panel.
  • Review. Keeping a child or young person’s support needs under review to ensure they are successfully met.

Who do I contact for more information?

If you are eligible for a Personal Education Budget as a result of an Education Health and Care Plan assessment, your Plan Coordinator or Hackney SENDIAGS (SEND Information, Advice and Guidance Service) can talk to you about how the process works.

If you do not know who your plan coordinator is please contact SEND Business Support who will direct your query to the correct person. Phone: 020 8820 7000 (option 4) Email sendbusinesssupport@hackney.gov.uk

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Page last modified: 10/10/2023