Types of Pooling

Casual Pooling

This is when people decide to share resources on an informal basis. You may be two friends who both have your own PAs for example. You decide you would like to go to the cinema but both PAs don’t need to go each time. The PAs might take it in turns to go with you, which may mean it costs less and you get to go to the cinema more often. For casual pooling you don’t really need to make any special arrangements, although you may need to adjust the individual contracts you have with the PAs to reflect the arrangement.  

Regular Pooling

This is when a group of people might get together to do a regular activity or do different activities on a regular basis. You might still have a casual arrangement and simply share the cost of the activity or the transport each week, but it’s a good idea to meet and think about what you do when things change e.g. when someone is on holiday, or if someone drops out. The more formal part of a pooling arrangement comes when you want to make a commitment to paying for something up front or to engage the services of someone to support your group. This is when you may need to think carefully about who takes the responsibility. Make sure you follow our step by step guide to make sure things don’t go wrong. Some of you might need support to help you sort everything out – one of the group’s parents or a guardian / representative or your Local Authority might be able to help.

Starting a Business

Some groups have an idea that they would like to make and sell things and want to pool their budgets to fund a support worker to help them set  up and run things. This is more complicated and you will generally need to set up a proper company. There are some steps to follow if you want to think about setting up a limited company at step 5 of our guide.

Getting Started

Our step by step guide takes you through the process of setting up a pooling group and has helpful hints and templates along the way so good luck! Click here for step 1