Putting people at the centre of ‘My Life’
Posted on 16 December 2025
My Life is our person-centred planning tool, created each year with the person we support in our learning disability services so it truly reflects who they are, what matters to them, and how they want to live their life. The refresh aims to strengthen autonomy, build on our Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach, and help teams create plans that genuinely improve quality of life.
People we support, their families, and staff were involved throughout the redesign, taking part in workshops led by PBS Practitioner Lindsey Henderson. Their insights shaped how the updated tool now works in practice.
To make the launch meaningful and manageable, we introduced My Life in two phases:
Phase 1: Internal launch in October
Managers explored the refreshed tool, how it supports Quality of Life (QoL), and how to bring the approach into everyday practice.
Phase 2: Wider launch in November
This brought senior support workers and QoL Champions together for workshops, demonstrations, and shared learning. Many of the people we support took part too, giving the day real meaning and grounding the process in lived experience.
PBS Team Leader Debbie Dacey said, “Having clients involved gave My Life more meaning. We wanted to ensure that clients had a voice in the roll out. My Life is about them after all! It was great to have so many people in attendance and everyone seemed to be engaged with the new idea. Having a family member attend to be the voice for those who we may need to make decisions for was also vital to ensure we are always keeping the client at the centre of My Life.”
Reflections from the day
Hearing directly from the people we support was a highlight for many. Roger, a Senior Support Worker in West Sussex, shared, “In my 15 years working with Southdown, this was one of the most amazing days I have experienced…The delivery was outstanding and took this day to another level.”
Lindsey Henderson added, “It helped give the people we support ownership and pride over such an important piece of work, and hopefully helped staff understand from a different perspective, instead of it coming from us!”
What the people we support told us
Louise said, “I like being involved. It’s been good to tell people what I think. I’ve enjoyed all of it. I wasn’t nervous talking to all the people today.”
Marc said, “It’s very important to be involved. It makes me happy. It gets me out meeting people who I haven’t met before. It’s fun. I use my My Life plan a lot. I say what I want to happen and what goals I want to achieve.”
What happens next
My Life will continue to be a key part of our Quality Days and how we support people across our Learning Disability services. We’ll keep learning, listening, and building confidence together so My Life stays true to its purpose: helping people live the life they want.
Below are some snapshots from the day:
