Our Commitment to Personalisation and Self-Directed Support

Our approach

At Nexsteps Personalised Support, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to make decisions about their own life, their support and their future.

Personalisation means recognising each person as an individual, with their own strengths, relationships, interests, ambitions and preferences.

Our agency is being developed to help people arrange support around their lives, rather than expecting people to fit into a standard service.

We want to make self-directed support more accessible, practical and responsive.

Our support planning experience

Nexsteps founder Wayne Shortland trained in person-centred thinking and support planning with Helen Sanderson Associates and Paradigm during the introduction of individual budgets and self-directed support. He then applied these approaches professionally, developing support plans with people and helping them explore how to put their choices into practice.

We build on established person-centred methods rather than presenting them as a new Nexsteps invention. Training history does not imply current endorsement or accreditation by either organisation.

Explore our free person-centred planning offer →

Your support journey: seven practical steps

Personalised support starts with the person, not a service or a rota. Our journey brings together self-directed support, independent support worker introductions and ongoing client case management. The stages are flexible and led by the individual.

1. Getting to know you. We listen to your strengths, communication preferences, relationships, daily life and what matters most.
2. Your life, your choices. Together we identify what you want to keep, change, learn or achieve.
3. Planning support your way. We help develop a clear, accessible plan around your wishes, preferred routines, outcomes and relevant safety needs, working alongside statutory plans where appropriate.
4. Understanding your budget. We explain proposed support worker and Nexsteps charges, and how these relate to your agreed funding or private arrangements. Your council or funding holder confirms what is permitted.
5. Finding the right people. We recruit, screen and introduce suitable independent Support Workers. You choose who to work with and agree arrangements directly with them, subject to the applicable contractual position.
6. Making everyday life happen. Support should help you pursue ordinary goals such as friendships, community participation, learning, work and greater independence.
7. Checking what works. Ongoing Nexsteps client case management includes communication, follow-up and reviews of the outcomes that matter to you, with changes agreed together.

These steps are our own practical approach, informed by the wider UK self-directed support movement. They are not a substitute for a local authority assessment, statutory care and support plan or clinical decision.

1. Choice and control

People using Nexsteps will be supported to make informed decisions about their arrangements.

• Listen to what matters to each individual.
• Respect people's preferred routines, interests and goals.
• Introduce suitable Support Workers (support workers) for individuals to consider.
• Support people to choose who they want to work with.
• Respect the individual's right to decline an introduction or request a different support worker.
• Provide clear information about services, costs and responsibilities.

Where appropriate, family members, advocates or legally authorised representatives will be involved according to the person's wishes and applicable decision-making arrangements.

2. Dedicated Support Workers

We recognise the importance of consistency and trusted relationships.

Our preferred approach is to help people identify a dedicated support worker who understands their individual preferences.

Clients and support workers will agree their working arrangements directly, subject to the applicable employment and contractual requirements.

Where an individual requests alternative support, Nexsteps will seek to introduce another suitable support worker from its developing network.

Alternative support is subject to availability and suitability. Cover cannot be guaranteed.

3. Clear agency responsibilities

Nexsteps Personalised Support is developing an agency service offering support worker recruitment, screening, introductions and client-facing coordination.

Our agency responsibilities include personalised support planning and ongoing client-facing case management as standard, alongside:

• Responding to enquiries and discussing individual requirements.
• Identifying and introducing potentially suitable support workers.
• Supporting appropriate pre-introduction checks.
• Providing clear information about contractual arrangements and charges.
• Helping clients understand their choices and options.
• Assisting with further introductions when requested.
• Providing ongoing client case management, outcome reviews and agreed follow-up as part of every client arrangement.
• Receiving concerns about Nexsteps' own services and responding appropriately.

The responsibilities of Nexsteps, the client and each support worker will be explained and agreed before services begin.

Nexsteps will not represent itself as the employer of an independent support worker where it is not the employer.

4. Safeguarding and accountability

Safeguarding is an essential part of our agency responsibilities.

We will:

• Maintain safeguarding policies and reporting procedures.
• Identify and respond to concerns raised through our agency activities.
• Check appropriate recruitment and suitability information.
• Explain how clients and support workers should report concerns.
• Refer safeguarding concerns to relevant statutory services where required.
• Record concerns, decisions and actions securely.
• Respect consent, confidentiality and information-sharing requirements.
• Ensure people know how to raise a complaint or concern about Nexsteps.

Our agency safeguarding responsibilities do not replace the legal responsibilities of individual support workers, employers, local authorities or other professionals.

Where personal care is arranged directly between an individual and a support worker, Nexsteps will not assume responsibility for directing or supervising its delivery.

The exact scope of any ongoing agency service will be established through appropriate regulatory and contractual review.

5. Personal budgets and Direct Payments

We support the principles of self-directed support.

People should receive accessible information to help them understand how their personal budget or Direct Payment arrangements work.

Our approach will seek to:

• Explain proposed agency costs transparently.
• Help people understand their available options.
• Respect individual decisions about how support is arranged.
• Work with relevant professionals where the client wishes.
• Avoid unnecessary restrictions on personal choice.

The use of Direct Payments to fund Nexsteps services will depend on the individual's agreed arrangements and relevant council requirements.

No particular funding or payment arrangement is guaranteed.

6. Working with social workers and commissioners

We recognise the importance of professional confidence and clear accountability.

Nexsteps aims to develop constructive working relationships with social workers, commissioners, Direct Payment support organisations and community partners.

We will seek to demonstrate:

• A clear service model.
• Transparent responsibilities and charges.
• Appropriate safeguarding procedures.
• Respect for professional roles and statutory duties.
• Accurate information about what our agency does and does not provide.
• A commitment to listening and improving.

Our goal is to complement personalised care and support arrangements, not create unnecessary duplication or confusion.

Measuring what matters to you

We review success through the person's own goals, not only the number of support hours delivered. Together we discuss choice and control, everyday living, confidence, relationships, community life and other outcomes the person chooses.

Reviews record the person's own views, the progress they want to celebrate and any changes they want to make. Accessible formats, family involvement and advocacy are used where appropriate and agreed.

7. Listening and improving

People who use support should influence how services develop.

Nexsteps intends to seek feedback from clients, independent support workers, families and professionals to help shape our agency.

We will use feedback to improve accessibility, communication, introductions, safeguarding arrangements and overall client experience.

We believe personalisation should be demonstrated through people's experiences, not simply described in organisational policies.

Our commitment

Nexsteps Personalised Support exists to make personalised support easier to arrange while protecting the individual's choice, dignity and independence.

We want people to feel listened to, informed and confident about the decisions they make.

Your Life. Your Choices. Your Support.