Using a person-centred approach, involving children and young people and their families is key to planning and reviewing support. See Person Centred Planning for further information about person-centred planning and a person-centred planning toolkit.
Important considerations include:
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Focusing on the children and young people and their families as individuals.
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Enabling children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings in ways that are meaningful to them.
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Ensuring children, young people and their families are fully included in all discussions, with appropriate support to enable their participation.
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Ensuring that what is being discussed is easy for children and young people to understand, relative to their developmental stage.
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Understanding how individuals prefer to communicate and their level of understanding (e.g. sharing views verbally, or through visual or multimedia resources, use of professional interpreters).
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Identifying who the child/ young person likes to communicate with – is there a member of staff whom they feel most comfortable sharing their honest views with? Consider whether parents/carers might be better placed to share views at home.
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Highlighting the child/ young person's strengths and capabilities.
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Eliciting the child/ young person's interests and the outcomes they would like in the short term and long term.