Care and support plans

A care and support plan describes what a child or young person wants to change about their life and how they'll use a personal budget to make these changes happen. This includes how children, young people and their parents or carers would like their needs to be met. The local authority and NHS Integrated Care (Stockport) have the responsibility to agree on the support plan to make sure that it will meet the child or young person's assessed needs.

Support planning tasks include:

  • researching and providing information about resources and services available
  • helping you to consider a range of options including universal services, community resources, informal support and assistive technology
  • discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the choices available
  • identifying and supporting applications for other relevant funding
  • costing the support plan, including the calculation related to tax, national insurance and pension payments where personal assistants are being used
  • helping you to plan contingency arrangements for staff holiday entitlement, sickness, or any other unforeseen circumstances
  • working closely with other linked case managers throughout the support planning process to ensure clinical, educational and care needs are being met
  • working with your case worker to identify staff training solutions for clinical, educational and care needs
  • where requested, assisting in presenting the support plan to the deciding panel for approval

When a plan is approved and the budget is agreed, summary details of the plan will be transferred into Section J of the EHCP, if there is one in place

Getting help with your care and support plan

You can ask your linked worker to help with your care and support plan. If your assessed needs are complex, you can get help from an external support plan writer who is not linked to the council or NHS Integrated Care (Stockport).

The following service providers offer support plan writing to help you put together a good support plan that will help to meet your needs:

When you've chosen a provider, you should tell your linked worker. They will then help you to make a formal referral.