Planning your support

If you need support to live your life, it can be hard to stay in control. A clear plan which says who you are, what you want, and how you will get it, will help make sure you stay at the centre of everything. Taking the time at the start to make a clear plan will help you get the best support and value for your money.

Social care funding for your support can only be arranged and agreed by a Care Manager or Social Worker. The FAQ’s in the box on the right will give you some more information about the people and the process involved in getting social care funding, and you can refer to the glossary for extra help.

Choosing the right support provider is a very important decision. We have recently been involved in developing a guide with VODG, the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, which you may find helpful.

Here are some tools to help you think about your life and plan your support. We have given you examples of these tools and at the bottom of the page you can find blank templates for your use.

Relationship circle example Planning with people who know you well is very important. This tool helps to map the people in your life and to think about your relationship with them.
Important to important for example We all have things in our life that are important to us and that we must have to keep us happy. This tool helps you to think about what those things are and what support other people can give to make them happen.
Working not working example Learning from what has happened in your life so far, is a very good way to make sure that your plans work for the future. This tool will help you to think about what has worked or not worked in the past.
4+1 questions example Sometimes we can get stuck and it can be hard to think about what to do next. This tool helps you to work with a group to come up with some next steps.

Below you will find blank PDF templates of the above example templates which you can and use to help you plan your support. There are also some Health Action Plan templates which you can use to make sure you stay healthy, or manage health problems you might have.