Learning disabilities

Planning With People - Accessible Guide 'Person centred planning is about being in charge of what happens in my life and getting people I want and trust to help me make things happen' Self Advocate Introduction About person centred planning What are person centred approaches? What about people who need more support? Who is person centred planning for? What should different people do? Making it happen Important things to remember..... How will we know if person centred planning is happening? Person centred planning has five key features Glossary - what some of the hard words mean This Guide     Introduction This guide has been written to help Learning Disability Partnership Boards think about how to develop person centred planning. This is something that Boards have to do as part of the White Paper, Valuing People. This guide does not tell you how to 'do' person centred planning. It will help Partnership Boards decide what needs to be done to make sure that the objectives in Valuing People really do happen in a way that puts people with learning disabilities first. What are Learning Disability Partnership Boards? These are new groups that bring people from different organisations and from the wider community together. Their job is to work to put Valuing People into action locally. People with learning disabilities and carers will be members of the Board. The Partnership Boards will be a way of helping people to work better together. They will be a place where people share important decisions about how services are planned and run. They will make decisions about how money will be spent on services for people with learning disabilities That means they will have to think about: How services are planned How services are managed How services are run As well as how people who work in services do their job. People with learning disabilities say that they want to live an ordinary life in their communities. Person centred planning can help Partnership Boards make this happen.   I Want.....   Top     About person centred planning It is important to spend some time thinking about what person centred planning and person centred approaches mean. They will be new words for lots of people. What does person centred mean? 'Person centred' means doing things in a way that the person wants and which helps them to be part of their community. If someone is in the centre of something, they are the most important person. What does person centred planning mean? This means putting the person at the centre of planning for their lives. Person centred planning is about: Listening to and learning about what people want from their lives Helping people to think about what they want now and in the future Family, friends, professionals and services working together with the person to make this happen 'I wasn't happy in my house because there were too many people and too many rules. I wanted to decide things for myself. I said that I wanted to move and get my own flat. I invited people to my meetings to help me think about what I wanted to do and how I could make it happen. The people who came were my Mum and Dad, staff from Skills for People, my Key Worker at the house, my Social Worker and my friends at Skills. Jen helped me because she told me about living with her boyfriend and learning to do things for herself. That's what I want to do. I'm on the waiting list for a flat now.' Self Advocate Top What are person centred approaches? Person centred approaches are ways of making sure that services do a better job of listening to what people who use them really want, and then making sure it happens. 'Sometimes services, like the Day Centre I go to, are not interested in what you want to do. You can do a course but only what they say. If you have an idea of something you want to do they say no, or they say it is too hard. That makes me feel as though I am not important. If I was going to change the Day Centre I would make the staff think more about me and what I want. I feel as though it is there for them sometimes, not for the people who go there' Self Advocate   Why person centred planning? There are lots of good things about person centred planning. People who have worked in this way have found that it: Helps them to think about what they want from their lives, their dreams and wishes   Helps them to feel good about themselves and more confident Helps the people in their lives work together to solve problems Helps services understand how they can support people in the way that they want Important things to remember Person centred planning is not: The same as Assessment and Care Planning The same as a Review Meeting Only for people who are easy to work with Something that should be done 'just for the sake of it' The only planning that should be done with people Whether or not someone chooses to use person centred planning, we still need: Really good managers Enough money for services, used in the right way Staff that can support people in the way that they want All services to get better The ways that people are supported to get better Top     What about people who need more support? It is also important to remember that person centred planning is not just for people who are able to speak up for what they want. Many people with learning disabilities are not able to explain what they want from their lives. They still have the right to live their life as they choose. They may need lots of support to make choices and decisions. They may need other people to speak up with them or for them. Person centred planning can help this happen. What needs to happen? Partnership Boards have to write a plan that says how they are going to help services work in a more person centred way. These plans will be called A Framework for person centred planning. The plan needs to be written by April 2002. A framework for person centred planning April 2002 The plan has to include: The reason why they are using person centred planning and how they want it to make things better for people with learning disabilities A small group of people who will do the day to day work - this group will be called the person centred planning implementation group An action plan - what they are going to do and when Top   Who is person centred planning for? Person centred planning is for everyone. The government has said that there are some groups of people who really need support to plan their lives how they want. They have said that these groups of people need to have person centred plans by the following dates: By 2003: People still living in long-stay hospitals Young people moving from services for children to services for adults By 2004: People who still go to big Day Centres People who still live with their family, especially if their carers are older than 70 People living in NHS residential campuses - these are residential homes built on the sites of old long-stay hospitals or to replace them on a new site. Top   What should different people do? Person centred planning is about families, friends and members of the community working together to support people with learning disabilities to live the life they choose. If things are really going to change, then professionals and services need to change too: Care Management Care Managers are responsible for working with a person to find out what they need from services and then putting the right services in place. This is called Assessment and Care Planning. The Partnership Board needs to make sure that person centred approaches are used more by Care Managers so that the person is able to be more in control of the services they receive. Care Managers will not usually support people to make a person centred plan. They may be involved in organising services that the plan says the person needs. Health professionals Health professionals need to think about how they do their job. They need to work in a way that puts the person at the centre. Services All the organisations that provide services for people with learning disabilities need to think about what they need to do to work in a more person centred way. They need to think about: How to tell people with learning disabilities and their carers about person centred planning How to tell their staff about person centred planning How to help some staff learn how to support people to make their own person centred plans Top   Making it happen Supporting people to plan their own lives is so important that the government have said that there will be money to support it. This will be from the Learning Disability Development Fund. Learning Disability Development Fund BUT…… Working in a person centred way is about changing how people and services think about people with learning disabilities - and that doesn't cost any money! It is also important that we keep a careful check on how well person centred planning is working. This will mean making sure that services are changing and getting better at putting people at the centre. Top   Important things to remember…. People with learning disabilities and their families are the most important people in developing person centred planning They must get the support they need to: Learn about person centred planning and what it means Lead their own planning if they want to There should be people who do not work for services who can help people with learning disabilities plan their lives and then put their plans into action People with learning disabilities should be involved in planning and running training for people about person centred planning. They should also be involved in evaluating how well person centred planning is working in their local area. People with learning disabilities and their families should be supported to get more involved in how policies are written and decided. Everyone is going to need training to find out more about person centred planning. Lots of people should have the chance to find out what person centred planning means. Some people should have the chance to find out exactly how it works and how to support people to plan what they want We need to support people to learn to be person centred planning facilitators This means that teaching people how to help people make person centred plans. This is a hard thing to learn to do well. We need to tell people about person centred planning and share stories about how people's lives have changed Sharing good news and stories about how people's lives have changed are really important. This will help people stay excited about person centred planning We need to evaluate whether person centred planning is changing people's lives and services We need to know that person centred planning is making a difference. This means finding out: Are people doing it? Are people doing it right? Is it helping to make people's lives better? Are services changing the way they work to make sure that they listen better to what people with learning disabilities say they want? We don't want lots of people to suddenly get person centred plans that don't make a difference. Helping someone plan their life properly takes time.

Top   How will we know if person centred planning is happening? Some of the ways we will know that person centred planning is happening are: There is a clear plan for how person centred planning will happen locally which involves people and their families People who buy services and people who run services will have a way of finding out how services should change to be more person centred. They will show what they are doing to make sure that things really do change Money is spent to make sure that person centred planning happens There are people who can help people plan their lives in a person centred way How will we know that person centred planning is working? Partnership Boards should involve people and their families in finding out if planning is helping to make change happen. Some of the ways that we will know person centred planning is working are: People with learning disabilities say that they are more in charge of their lives Services can show that they are changing the ways they work and listening better to what people with learning disabilities say they want But the best way we can be sure that person centred planning is working will be when more people, including people who need more support are…… Working Living in their own homes Going to College Having friendships and relationships   Using direct payments.........     .........and feeling a part of their local community Top Person centred planning has 5 key features   1. The person is at the centre If someone is in the centre of something, they are the most important person. This means that other people cannot be more powerful or make decisions about the person's life that they do not agree with. Some ways of making sure this happens are: The person chooses who is involved and who to invite to meetings The person is asked what they want The person chooses where and when meetings are held 2. Family members and friends are partners in planning Person centred planning is about supporting people to be part of their community. Friends, family and other people in our community are important people in our lives. Their views and ideas can help people to develop their plans 3. The plan shows what is important to the person (now or for the future). It shows their strengths and what support they need Person centred planning is a way of understanding more about a person and their life. As people plan together, important things can happen: Supporters may change what they think about a person and what they can do People make friends and build relationships with each other People involved are able to work better together to make things happen The person centred plan will then describe what is important to the person, their strengths and the support they need to make things happen. 4. The plan helps the person to be a part of their community and helps the community to welcome them. It is not just about services. It shows what is possible, not just what is on offer. Person centred planning is about everyone working together to make things happen. The plans should always help the person be more involved in their community. This means that services will only be a part of what people want and need. Most important is for people to plan the type of life they want 5. Things do not just stop when the first plan is written. Everyone involved keeps on listening, learning and making things happen. Putting the plan into action helps the person to achieve what they want out of life. Person centred planning is not something that just happens once. People change as their experiences change. The support and help they need may also change. Person centred planning is a promise to people that problems can be solved and differences can be worked out. It means that everyone needs to work together to make changes happen: In the person's life In their community In organisations and services To do this means learning from what works and what does not work.   Top   Glossary - what some of the hard words mean Person centred planning This means putting the person at the centre of planning for their lives by: Listening to and learning about what people want from their lives Helping people to think about what they want now and in the future Family and friends working together with the person to make this happen Person centred approaches Person centred approaches are ways of making sure that services do a better job of listening to what people who use them really want, and then make sure it happens Learning Disability Partnership Board These are new groups that bring people from different organisations and from the wider community together to work to put Valuing People into action locally. People with learning disabilities and carers will be members of the Board. A framework for person centred planning The plan that says how Learning Disability Partnership Boards are going to help services work in a more person centred way. They have to be written by April 2002 Person centred planning implementation group The group of people who will work together to make sure that person centred planning is set up Learning Disability Development Fund Money from the government to pay for some of the new ways of working in Valuing People. Learning Disability Partnership Boards will be able to ask for some of this money to help them set up person centred planning in their area Assessment and Care Planning Care Managers are responsible for working with a person to find out what they need from services and then putting the right services in place. This is called Assessment and Care Planning. Evaluation Looking back at something and deciding how well it has worked Top This guide was written by Tricia Webb and members of Skills for People. Thank you to the people at Skills who shared their stories and who helped to make sure that the words in this guide were easy to understand. Contact Skills for People at: Key House Tankerville Place Jesmond Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 3AT Tel: 0191 281 8737 Fax: 0191 212 0300 Email skillsforpeople@currantbun.com Many thanks to CHANGE for the pictures from their excellent Change Picture Bank. Top

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This page last updated 29 April 2002