Two people may need exactly the same help getting dressed in the morning, yet have completely different ideas about how they’d like that support to be given. One might enjoy a conversation while getting ready. The other may prefer a little peace and quiet before breakfast. Neither approach is right or wrong. They’re simply different people, with different routines, personalities and preferences.
That’s the thinking behind person-centred care. It recognises that providing good support involves more than understanding someone’s physical needs. It means listening to their wishes, respecting their choices and helping them maintain as much independence as possible. To help care assistants, support workers, home carers and families put these principles into practice, we’ve created a free person-centred care plan template. It’s a straightforward, two-page printable PDF designed to help organise the information that makes care more personal.
Your Free Person-Centred Care Plan
A practical, two-page template to help record individual preferences, daily routines, personal goals and the support that matters most.
↓ Download Your Free Care Plan PDF
Free to download • Printable PDF • No registration required
What Is a Person-Centred Care Plan?
A person-centred care plan is a record of someone’s individual needs, preferences, goals and agreed support arrangements. Rather than focusing entirely on the tasks a care worker needs to complete, it considers how the person wants to live and what matters to them.
For example, a traditional task-focused note might simply state that someone requires assistance preparing meals. A person-centred approach goes further. It might explain that they enjoy choosing their own food, prefer to prepare vegetables independently and only need help using the oven safely. Those details can make an enormous difference to someone’s everyday experience. They allow care workers to provide support without unnecessarily taking away the person’s independence.
Importantly, a care plan should be developed with the person receiving support wherever possible, rather than written about them without their involvement.
In England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) identifies person-centred care as a fundamental standard. Regulation 9 requires care and treatment to reflect people’s needs and preferences, with individuals supported to participate in decisions about their care.
Further reading:
CQC Regulation 9: Person-Centred Care
.
Why Does Person-Centred Care Planning Matter?
Imagine moving into a care home or beginning to receive support at home. Suddenly, people you may never have met are helping with parts of your daily life that you’ve managed independently for years. Even when that support is welcomed, it can feel unfamiliar. Small choices become particularly important: when to get up, what to wear, how to spend the afternoon or whether to have a cup of tea before breakfast.
A thoughtful care plan helps preserve those everyday decisions. It gives staff a better understanding of the person they’re supporting and helps maintain consistency when different carers are involved. It also creates opportunities to recognise someone’s abilities, not just their difficulties. A person who needs assistance walking may still enjoy gardening. Someone who requires support preparing meals might take pride in choosing recipes or setting the table.
Person-centred planning encourages care workers to ask a better question: what can we do to help this person live the life they want?
What’s Included in Our Free Care Plan Template?
We’ve designed the template around five practical areas. Each section provides space to record information in a way that’s easy to understand and revisit.
01. What Matters to Me
Record personal preferences, favourite routines, interests and the little things that help someone feel comfortable and understood.
02. My Goals and Choices
Identify what the person wants to achieve, the activities they’d like to continue enjoying and where they prefer to remain independent.
03. My Day-to-Day Support
Describe preferred support with personal care, meals, hydration, mobility, communication and everyday routines.
04. Risks and Important Contacts
Note relevant risks, agreed precautions, key contacts and where approved care instructions can be found.
05. Review and Agreement
Keep track of changing needs, review what’s working and record when the plan should next be discussed.
The template is deliberately simple. It’s intended to encourage useful conversations and help organise information, rather than replace a professionally assessed and approved care plan.
How to Complete a Person-Centred Care Plan
One of the best ways to begin is by having a conversation rather than immediately reaching for a form.
Ask the person about their normal day. What do they enjoy? Are there particular routines they’d like to keep? What would they prefer to do themselves? Is there anything about receiving care that makes them uncomfortable? Where appropriate, family members, advocates or others involved in their care may be able to contribute, provided the person’s wishes, consent and relevant legal arrangements are respected.
Consider the following fictional example.
Margaret, 82, Receiving Support at Home
What matters to me: Margaret enjoys listening to classical music in the morning and having breakfast by the kitchen window. She likes to choose her own clothes and prefers being called Maggie.
My goals: Maggie would like to continue preparing simple meals and watering the plants in her garden whenever she feels able.
My daily support: She welcomes help with tasks that involve prolonged standing but prefers to complete other activities independently where safe and appropriate.
Communication: Maggie wears hearing aids and finds conversations easier when people speak clearly while facing her.
Review: Maggie’s support arrangements will be reviewed with her and the responsible care professional, particularly if her mobility or preferences change.
Fictional example for educational purposes.
None of these details is particularly complicated, yet together they help a care worker understand Maggie as an individual. That’s what makes person-centred planning valuable. It turns a collection of care requirements into a more meaningful picture of someone’s life.
When Should a Person-Centred Care Plan Be Reviewed?
People’s lives change, and their care plans should be able to change with them.
Someone recovering from an illness may gradually regain independence. Another person might develop new mobility difficulties, change their daily routine or decide they’d like to pursue a different personal goal. Care plans should be reviewed at the intervals agreed by the responsible care provider and whenever a significant change in circumstances makes a review necessary.
The CQC’s guidance on person-centred care also emphasises the importance of reviewing people’s needs and preferences and keeping staff informed when arrangements change. Our free template includes space for review notes and the next review date, making it easier to identify what needs updating.
Why Does CareStaff24 Offer Free Care Plan Templates?
Care workers do far more than complete tasks. They build relationships, notice changes, offer reassurance and help people maintain the routines that make life feel familiar.
At CareStaff24, we believe those responsibilities deserve recognition and practical support.
That’s why we’re developing a collection of free resources for care assistants, support workers, home carers and nursing professionals. From daily care logs and handover sheets to risk assessment checklists, our aim is to make useful information and straightforward tools accessible to people working across the care sector. We don’t believe someone should have to pay for a simple planning worksheet that could help them organise their thoughts or start a better conversation about care.
Our person-centred care plan template is completely free to download, with no registration required.
Supporting the People Who Support Others
Whether you’re beginning your career in care or have spent years supporting others, having access to practical resources can make everyday responsibilities a little easier. Our goal is to help care professionals feel informed, organised and supported in the work they do.
More Free Resources for UK Care Workers
Our person-centred care plan works alongside several other free resources available from CareStaff24.
If you’re responsible for documenting daily support, our
Daily Care Log Template
can help organise observations and activities throughout a shift.
For professionals visiting someone in their own home, our
Home Visit Risk Assessment Checklist
provides a practical starting point for identifying common environmental concerns.
You can also explore our complete
Free Care Resources Hub
for additional templates, checklists and helpful tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Better Care Begins with Understanding
Every person has their own story, routines and goals. Download our free care plan template and take a more personal approach to organising everyday support.
↓ Download Free Care Plan Template
Two-page printable PDF • Free for UK care professionals
Important: This template is intended as a general planning aid and should not replace a professionally assessed or employer-approved care plan. Always follow your organisation’s policies on care planning, consent, safeguarding, confidentiality and secure record keeping. Personal information should only be recorded and shared through approved systems.
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