Children's direct payment in Cumberland

A children's direct payment allows the parent or carer to arrange care and services for the child instead of your local trust doing it on your behalf. Following an assessment to decide what support the child (16 or under) requires to best suit their needs. This could include:

• Personal care
• Short breaks
• Help to go to activities.

If your child is eligible, there are several organisations you can reach out to talk about getting a direct payment. These are:

• Single Point of Access for Cumberland
• UDirect Support's Hub
• Your child's school.

A Direct Payment allows you to receive a budget from your local authority instead of commissioned services. This can give you much more flexibility and greater control of your child’s support needs.

Children and young people with an Education, Health, and Care Plan, along with their parents or carers, are able to request a personal budget to support the goals outlined in their Education, Health, and Care Plan. These are designed to give families and young people more control over the resources available to meet their needs.

If you’re considering requesting a personal budget, we recommend that you first speak with your child’s school. Their school may have the necessary resources available, or may be willing to include your child in existing programs, that could meet their needs. They may also decide to purchase resources that could benefit your child and others.

If the school cannot provide the required support, you can submit a request for a personal budget to Cumberland Council.

Every local authority in England has a Single Point of Access which is ran by a team of experienced clinicians whose focus is to evaluate an individuals needs using the information provided by the referrer. They work with services who provide direct payments, like ourselves, to discuss the referral and the appropriate action plan going forward.

Every step taken, is one that looks towards the referee's best interests.

To speak to Cumberland's Single Point of Access, please ring 0300 303 5440.

At UDirect Support, we are proud to offer specialised training to support both the employer and Personal Assistants. Funded by Skills for Care, and working alongside DAD (Darlington Association on Disability) and Disability North our courses have been designed to equip you with the expert skills, knowledge and confidence to provide compassionate and high-quality care.