What is ‘Active participation’

Active participation is a way of working that supports an individual’s right to participate in the activities and relationships of everyday life as independently as possible. The individual is an active partner in their own care or support rather than being passive. The individual is the expert who knows best the way of life that matters to them and the worker listens and takes this into account at all times. For example, when it is a birthday or a special occasion, asking an individual if and how they would like to celebrate rather than making assumptions or telling others about the occasion without their permission. Taking control of their care and support helps an individual build their identity and self-esteem. You should also keep equality and diversity in mind, giving every individual an equal opportunity of achieving their goals, valuing their diversity and finding solutions that work for them.

Key features of Person-Centred Working :

Each person is valued. They are put at the centre of the practice and:

• Enabled to make independent and informed decisions about their lives and their own care and support
• Enabled to state their views and opinions and listened to when they express them
• In control of the way in which services are provided to them e.g. they have control over how, where and when their needs are met and who assists them with the support they need
• Enabled to maximise their independence by being able to continue to use the skills they have and to build on these to regain, or develop further levels of independence where they can
• Supported, not hindered, in maintaining a full, active and independent life within their own community.
• Fully involved in assessing their own needs and drawing up their support plans, one page profiles etc.
• Fully in control of decisions about the risks they wish to take and in deciding on how these are to be assessed and managed
• Fully in control of who should and should not be present when their needs are being assessed and discussed
• Able to choose who supports them by being involved in selecting and interviewing their personal assistants and key workers and using independent advocates when they require support
• Able to challenge the quality of a service without fear of it having negative consequences e.g. enabled to make a complaint
• Regarded as having strengths, abilities and potential which is recognised and used as the starting point for meeting their needs rather than the starting point being their weaknesses and shortcomings
• Regarded as a partner and equal when engaged with professionals to work in partnership, designing, determining and reviewing the services they require and receive
• Respected and shown respect by those who are engaged in enabling them
• In control of the information which is provided to care and support organisations about them
• Regarded by those engaged in enabling them as having rights, and not being stigmatised for having needs which others might need to enable them to meet
• Enabled to determine what they themselves consider to be respecting their rights, privacy and dignity rather than using other people’s definition of these
• Not patronised by those who support them
• Seen as a whole person who has a right to a quality of life and not just to having fundamental needs met
• Seen as a person first and not labelled or stereotyped
• Addressed in the way they determine, not how others choose to do so

Use to answer question 7.5a of the Care Certificate