Outcome 
Focused 
Reviews

Booklet to complete 

before the review


Name



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Completing this booklet

This booklet is to help you to prepare for your review. It 
is to help you think about what is working and working 
for you, so that you can talk about this in your review. 

The focus of the review is on your outcomes - the things 
that are most important for you to achieve in your life.

What are outcomes?

By outcomes, we mean the things that are most 
important for you to achieve in your life. These might 
be big changes such as moving house, or smaller but 
important things such as making sure that you are able 
to get up in the morning at the time that suits you. An 
outcome might also be to keep something the same that 
you don’t want to change - such as being able to keep the 
house and garden well-maintained. If you get help from 
social services, you will normally have a care or support 
plan. A good support plan will make clear the outcomes 
you want to achieve and show how this is going to 
happen.

What is a review?

A review is a check that you are getting the support you 
need to live your live, and that you are safe and well. It 
is also a check that you still need the support. Usually 
someone working for your local council visits you to 
carry out the review. This should happen at least once 
a year. The review should look at the whole of your 
life, not just the services that you use. It needs to look 



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at how the money the council spends on your support 
is being used. If you get a personal budget from the 
council, this money should be used to help you achieve 
the outcomes that are important for you. A personal 
budget can be used to pay for services or you may get 
the money yourself as a direct payment. An outcome 
focused review checks whether the outcomes have been 
achieved. It is a chance to say what is and is not working. 
The review is also a chance to make changes. As a result 
of the review, your support arrangements may need 
to change. You may need more support and a higher 
personal budget. Or your needs could have reduced, in 
which case you may no longer need a personal budget.

Review booklet

You can use the review booklet as the basis for a 
conversation about your life – how it has improved and 
what needs to be put into place to make it even better. 
It should focus on the outcomes which were identified 
in the previous support plan. The booklet can be filled in 
by you or by the council. It is designed to be typed using 
a computer, and extra space can be added if needed. If 
you want to fill it in by hand, ask for a version with more 
space. The council should make sure you have a copy of 
the completed review form.



Using the review booklet

How is your personal budget helping you to 
achieve your outcomes?

Complete the first column of the table headed Personal 
outcomes. In the first column of the table write down 
all the outcomes that you wanted to achieve. These 
may have been recorded in your care or support plan. 
But record anything that it is important to you. Some 
headings are provided in the table to help you put your 
outcomes into categories. Some may not be relevant 
for you. The table on the next page may help you decide 
which heading to use. Your council might use other 
headings instead. Complete the sections headed ‘What 
is working’ and ‘What is not working’. Write down 
anything important that is working well or not working 
as well as you hoped. If there are any changes you want 
to make, write these in the last column.

What are the views of your family and other 
people who support you?

Members of your family can fill in this section. It can 
be used to explain what is working or not working from 
their perspective.

How have you spent your personal budget?

Use this section to write a list of how your personal 
budget has been spent.

Your top three personal outcomes

Use this section of the booklet to write down the top 
three personal outcomes that you wanted to achieve. 



For each of these tick one box to say whether or not the 
outcome has been achieved. Tick the box marked ‘Yes 
- helped towards it’ if you feel that you have been able 
to make good progress towards the outcome, but it has 
not yet been fully achieved. 

Have your support needs changed?

Use this section to record any big changes - for example 
new things where you need support, or things that you 
no longer need help with.

What needs to change in your support plan?

This section is about the future. You can use it to say 
what you would to happen in the future, and three things 
that you want to achieve in the next year.

Actions

You will think about what actions you want to take 
during the review. You can use the space in the booklet 
to make notes on any actions that you would like to take.

Preparing for your review

The review will be better if you and the council have done 
some planning before it takes place. For example:

• It will be useful to be clear about the outcomes you 
wanted to achieve, and which were the three most 
important for you.

• Think about what is working and not working for you.

• Make sure that there is enough time allowed to do 
the review so you and the council can talk through 
any problems you are having.



• Think about whether any family members need 
to take part in the review. If a member of your 
family is caring for you, the Council will need to 
check how things are working from their point of 
view. The council may need to speak to your family 
separately.

• If you have a personal budget from the council, it 
is a good idea to have information to hand about 
how the money is being used.

 



Outcome 
category

Community Life: 
Leisure, Learning 
and Work

Managing Money

Family and 
Relationships

Choices and 
Changes

Living Safely and 
Taking Risks

This could include

Using local amenities

Going on holiday

Practicing your religion

Getting a qualification

Doing a job

Doing voluntary work

Keeping on top of household bills

Making sure you are getting 
benefits or pensions

Keeping track of your personal 
budget

Keeping in touch with your family 
and friends

Looking after your children or 
other relatives

Getting to make new friends

Making sure that people know 
what you want

Being able to tell Carers how you 
want them to help you

Making decisions

Making sure that you are safe

Making sure that you are not being 
harmed or bullied by other people

Having the change to do new 
things

Using aids and equipment so you 
can feel safe and do things for 
yourself



Outcome 
category

Health and Well-
Being

Everyday Tasks

This could include

Getting the right medical 
treatment

Getting enough exercise

Eating well

Feeling good about yourself and 
your life

Personal care

Getting up and going to bed

Practical tasks around the house

Getting around



Personal Outcomes 
Working? 
Not working and why? 
How would you like 
from 
your support plan 
this to change?

Community Life: 

leisure, learning and 
work



Personal Outcomes 
Working? 
Not working and why? 
How would you like 
from 
your support plan 
this to change?

Managing money



Personal Outcomes 
Working? 
Not working and why? 
How would you like 
from 
your support plan 
this to change?

Family and relationships



Personal Outcomes 
Working? 
Not working and why? 
How would you like 
from 
your support plan 
this to change?

Choices and changes



Personal Outcomes 
Working? 
Not working and why? 
How would you like 
from 
your support plan 
this to change?

Living safely and taking 
risks



Personal Outcomes 
Working? 
Not working and why? 
How would you like 
from 
your support plan 
this to change?

Health and well being



Personal Outcomes 
Working? 
Not working and why? 
How would you like 
from 
your support plan 
this to change?

Everyday tasks



From others perspectives

Perspective 
Working and why? 
Not working and why?



Support plan and budget review

How has your support plan improved the quality of your 
life?

How have you spent your budget?



What is important to you now? 

If this has changed since your support plan

What do you want for the future? 

If this has changed since your support plan



What are the top 3 priorities for next year?

1.

2.

3.



Have your support needs changed?

Based on this information, do you think 
that your support plan needs to change?

(updated within existing allocation or reassess and 
review budget allocation)



Any comments? 

Anything that you want to say/record has not been 
covered?



Actions to be completed at your review

What is the action? 
Who will do this? 
By when?



Thinking back to the 
top 3 most important 
outcomes from your 
support plan, has 
the way you used 
your money achieved 
them?

1.

2.

3.

Yes, 
helped 
towards it

No

Yes



Date of next review

................................................................................

Person responsible the next review

................................................................................

Person’s signature

................................................................................

Reviewer’s signature

................................................................................

Date

................................................................................

Booklet developed by HSA