Information for Commissioners about attending a Life Planning Day
About Life Planning
Life Planning takes it principles and values from Citizenship and particularly the 7 Keys revised in 2023 by Dr Simon Duffy and Wendy Perez. Citizenship means being equal AND different. Citizens are respected and valued for all their differences. People do not all need to be the same. We each make our own unique contribution to community life. It is being members of our community that makes us equal.
The planning process is based on gathering the knowledge and skills of the people that know them best. It includes a planning day which is ‘facilitative’; listening, and recording what:
- The person, their family and people who know them well want for them, know they need, and;
- An agreement by all present as to how it will be provided, with an action plan looking at who needs to be involved and when things will happen.
Creating a Life Plan uses many of the tools from the Person Centred Planning movement and those tools will be used during the planning day. They will then be woven with other information provided to the facilitator.
On the Day
You should expect to be there all day. It has often taken years for a person to end up in the situation we are planning to support them to move away from or if at the start of their journey to independence the importance of having a positive move is vital in setting the foundations for a good life. Investing 6 hours in information gathering and hearing the person and their families wishes, aspirations and fears will provide a solid foundation to learn from and get it right going forward.
We have to remember as professionals within a system on some occasions the system has hurt people and broken families apart, often a long time before we were involved. Being present and hearing that can be hard but it will also support the development of more trusted relationships moving forward. Remembering this is not personal and being comfortable to ask for a break if you need one is also important.
Things we will consider on the day
The facilitated day may look at:
- Their life so far, so we can learn about them, what has happened and what has worked well in the past
- Where they want to live
- What their home will need to be like
- What they want to do with their time
- What support they will need
- What kind of people they want to support them
- Their hopes and dreams for the future
- Their gifts and skills
- How their home and support will be paid for
- And other things that we need to know to get it right for them
Following the Planning Day
The draft plan will be shared with all attendees, to comment on and correct any errors or omissions. People may choose to omit specific sections in the version they choose to share with family members and this is accommodated by the facilitator. Any easy read versions will need to be sourced from a Speech and Language therapist locally.
To Note
Whilst the planning day is always the first option and is often the most efficient and effective, should the person identify they prefer an online planning day it will be broken into two shorter sessions often within a fortnight of each other.