1 page profilesA website has been launched that celebrates success stories of people who have used one page profiles – a tool that encapsulates important information about a person on one sheet of paper.

The website, www.onepageprofiles.wordpress.com, contains stories showing how schoolchildren, mothers-to-be, people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, or those experiencing mental ill health, among others, can be empowered by the tool.

A one page profile encapsulates important information about a person – such as what is important to them, the things people like and admire about them and how they like to be supported – on a single sheet of paper.

Helen Sanderson from person-centred change consultancy Helen Sanderson Associates developed the first one-page profile for her daughter nine years ago. “A one-page profile is a powerful tool and is the cornerstone of delivering personalisation,” she said. “We cannot offer personalised services to people unless we know what matters to them and how they want to be supported. A one-page profile is a summary of this information.

“By sharing the changes that one-page profiles can make, we hope to encourage people to think about creating their own to use in their personal life and their work. Together with The Learning Community for Person-Centred Practices we have collected one-page profiles from 100 people for our website. They show the difference they have made, from birth to end of life, across health, education and social care: within families and organisations.”