EOTAS and Personal Budgets

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What is an EHC personal budget?

A personal budget is an estimated amount of money needed to pay for the special educational provision set out in an EHC plan. 

If you have an EHC plan, you have the right to request a personal budget. You can then decide whether you would like to manage some of the budget yourself, if this is appropriate and you feel able to do so. 

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What are Direct Payments?

At the same time as requesting a personal budget, you can ask the Local Authority whether any part of that budget can be provided as a Direct Payment. This allows you to arrange the support or provision yourself, if you wish. 

If a Direct Payment is agreed, the parent, carer or young person will receive funds directly to arrange specific provision themselves. However, the Local Authority is not required to agree to a Direct Payment in every situation.  

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When can I ask for a personal budget?

Your local authority must consider identifying a personal budget for educational provisions if you request it:

• when the draft EHC plan following an EHC needs assessment is being prepared/issued or
• when they are reviewing an EHC plan (at an annual review).

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Do I have the right to a personal budget?

Local authorities must consider each request for a Personal Budget on its individual merits and prepare a Personal Budget in each case unless the sum is part of a larger amount and separating out a part of the funds for the Personal Budget would: –

• have an adverse impact on services provided or arranged by the local authority for other EHC plan holders, or
• where it should not be an efficient use of the local authority’s resource.

In these circumstances the Local Authority must explain the reasons as to why it cannot identify and prepare a personal budget.

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What can a personal budget be spent on?

An EHCP personal budget may be used to pay for provision identified in Section F, G or H of the EHCP. It can be spent on support and services which meet the outcomes in Section E of the EHCP. This includes the funds needed to buy more specialist or individual support than the school or college is expected to provide from within its general resources. 

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What can’t a personal budget be spent on?

A personal budget does not cover:

• Payment/funding for a place at a school or college
• Payment/funding for the extra help the school, college or local authority is expected to provide for all children with special educational needs as part of the local offer/ordinary available provision.
• Payment for any provision that is not specified in the EHCP (sections F, G and H)

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How can I receive and manage a personal budget?

There are four ways in which a personal budget can be provided:

1. Direct payments – individuals receive the cash to contract, purchase and manage services themselves
2. An arrangement – whereby the Local Authority, school or college holds the funds and commissions the support specified in the plan (these are sometimes called notional budgets)
3. Third party arrangements – where funds (direct payments) are paid to and managed by an individual or organization on behalf of the child’s parent or the young person.
4. A combination of the above

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How is a personal budget set out in an EHC plan?

An EHC plan can contain provision from education, health or social care agencies. A personal budget should be described in Section J of an EHC plan. It links to provision agreed in Section F (education), Section G (health) or Section H (social care), or any combination of these.

Section J, must set out:

• The details of how the Personal Budget will support meeting the outcomes in the EHCP, (set out in Section E);
• The provision (education, health and/or social care) it will be used for, including any flexibility, and;
• Arrangements for any Direct Payments.

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Personal Budgets and the Local Offer

Local authorities must provide information on Personal Budgets as part of the Local Offer. This should include a policy on Personal Budgets that sets out a description of the services across education, health and social care that currently lend themselves to the use of Personal Budgets, how that funding will be made available, and clear and simple statements of eligibility criteria and the decision-making processes (SEND Code of Practice para 9.96).

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EOTAS

What does EOTAS mean?

Education other than at school (EOTAS) means the education or special educational provision of children or young people with an EHCP outside of a formal educational setting. It can be considered where the Local Authority is satisfied that it would be inappropriate for provision to be made in a school or post 16 institution. 

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What are some examples of EOTAS?

EOTAS Examples include but are not limited to:

-Online schooling

-Home tuition

-Mentoring

-Other tuition centres

-Therapies such as Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.

EOTAS is often a “bespoke package” or several types of provision.

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When can EOTAS be requested?

EOTAS can be considered during an EHC needs assessment, a reassessment or at an annual review. The term EOTAS is also sometimes used to refer to “Alternative Provision,” which is the temporary arrangement of education for a child who is unable to attend school. You do not need an EHCP to receive Alternative Provision.

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Who has responsibility for the child or young person’s education?

Unlike Elective Home Education a Local Authority maintains responsibility for delivering the provision in Section F of an EHCP where a child is educated with EOTAS.

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Who will undertake Annual Reviews?

Where EOTAS is agreed in an EHCP, the Local Authority must maintain all duties to follow the annual review process and review the EHCP every 12 months.

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How will EOTAS look on an EHC plan?

When EOTAS is agreed, Section I of the EHCP plan should be left blank and the specific details of the provision should be set out in Section F of the EHCP.

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