How to Record Meaningful Goals in Person-Centred Care Plans

🧠 Blog 4 of 7 in our Person-Centred Care recording series
How can your care plans show that support is built around what matters to each individual — not just what needs doing?

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🎯 Recording goals is essential — but not all goals are truly personal. Too often, care plans include vague or generic outcomes like “maintain independence” or “improve wellbeing,” which are difficult to evidence and don’t tell the person’s story.

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📌 What Makes a Goal Person-Centred?

Ask yourself: would this goal make sense to someone who knows the individual well?

• Specific to the person’s interests or priorities — e.g. “Attend Friday gardening group independently”
• Reflects their voice — e.g. “I want to start volunteering at the animal shelter again”
• Realistic and measurable — small steps are okay if they are meaningful

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📝 Examples of Person-Centred Goals

• “Michael wants to walk his daughter down the aisle next spring. Weekly physio and stair practice planned.”
• “Fatima would like to return to mosque independently. Travel confidence building sessions scheduled.”
• “Leo wants to resume painting. Support worker to help organise materials and structure weekly sessions.”

Each goal reflects a real aspiration — not a service output.

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📚 How to Record Progress Against Goals

• Link support tasks and daily notes directly back to the person’s goals
• Use language that shows the person’s involvement, decisions, and achievements
• Update goals when they’re achieved, changed, or need review — not just annually

This helps inspectors and commissioners see a golden thread from planning to delivery to outcomes.

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🚫 Common Mistakes

• Overwriting goals: Goals should be in the person’s voice where possible, not rewritten by staff
• Using vague language: “Improve wellbeing” or “maintain function” say little about the person
• Ignoring goals in reviews: Reviews should focus on whether goals were achieved — not just repeat tasks completed

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📚 Explore the Full Person-Centred Recording Blog Series:

• 1. What Does ‘Person-Centred’ Really Mean in Daily Practice?
• 2. How to Record Person-Centred Approaches in Daily Notes
• 3. How to Evidence Choice and Control in Social Care Records
• 4. How to Record Meaningful Goals in Person-Centred Care Plans
• 5. How to Evidence Communication Needs in Care Records
• 6. How to Capture Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health in Care Records
• 7. How to Evidence Person-Centred Support in Shared Living Environments

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