Sarah Ash, Subject Advisor for Health and Social Care and Child Development

This year we’ve heard from a number of centres teaching our Cambridge Advanced National in Health and Social Care about their experiences with NEA Unit F092, Person-centred-approach to care. In particular, some students have found creating the one-page profile in Task 1 challenging. 

In this blog I’ll provide guidance to support Task 1, including a clearer explanation of one-page profiles, what we are looking for in the assessment, some useful resources and practical approaches to teaching and learning that could save time.

What is a one-page profile?

It might seem obvious, but a one-page profile is a one-sided document, usually A4 size, summarising what is important about that person and how they want to be supported. It is a unique document that paints a picture with words. 

When you read a one-page profile it should act as a starting point for a conversation. It should tell you something about the person, such as their interests and what concerns they have. A photo of the person could be included but is not essential.

Using case studies

We understand that in Task 1, we are asking students to obtain information for someone who is living their everyday life in normal circumstances, which is not what happens in care settings. In real-life a one-page profile is usually written by the individual themselves so that carers or support workers can better understand their situation. 

To help students learn about one-page profiles, we suggest you encourage them to research and look at a range of examples – from people needing support in their employment to those for people who are in care. 

Some of the profiles you find from your research could lack detail. This could be related to that person’s living circumstances or their specific needs: for example, they might be living in a children’s home with a learning disability. There may already be some background knowledge that doesn’t need explaining to staff, so it isn’t included in the profile. These examples don’t necessarily reflect what we are looking for in F092, but they are still useful to help students with their understanding. 

When a person has support needs, there can be a tendency to make the one-page profile about what is wrong with them, when the focus should be about who they are.

An approach to teaching and learning about one-page profiles

For the one-page profile in F092, students draw on the information gathered during an interview and recorded using specific tools. Assessment criteria P1 to P5 form the basis for what follows in the rest of the assignment. 

Moderators need to see clear evidence that students have used the tools to complete the profile and that the profile gives a strong sense of who the person is. As the one-page profile your students create is used throughout the assignment for both Task 1 and Task 2, time spent on these criteria is time well spent. 

When teaching your students about planning and conducting interviews, consider starting your teaching with examples of one-page profiles that can be found from a search of the internet. Share two examples of one-page profiles, encouraging students to compare the information and the differences between the two people. Collate their comparisons on the board. 

An example of a comparison might be around physical activity. It might be important to one person that they take a walk every afternoon, but to another it might be going to the gym three times a week. 

Next, with their knowledge of the two individuals, introduce the tools:

• good day/bad day
• relationship circle 
• perfect week 
• important to/important for. 

Working in groups, students can then consider the range of questions that they might ask for each of the tools that would result in the information on the one-page profiles they compared. 

Building on this, students could work in pairs to ask those questions to each other. For homework they could complete the tools and create a one-page profile of their peer. At the next teaching opportunity you can gather feedback. 

Then as a class, discuss what they thought of the process of using the tools to create the one-page profile. Ask if they can think of any care values they may have applied when asking questions of each other, or that they could have applied.

Key points and resources

Once your students have practised one-page profiles using the tools, gathered feedback and thought of questions they are prepared for interviewing their chosen person and creating their one-page profile. 

Suffolk County Council has a guide to completing a one-page profile using a person-centred approach that you could share with your students. 

The Helen Sanderson Associates website has templates of the tools that students need to complete for F092 P3. 

A video by Suffolk County Council on YouTube focuses on creating a one-page profile for young people. These could be additional aids to knowledge and understanding. Students could watch the video in their own time and share what they have learned in class.

Consider what information should be on the profile that will help the reader to know that person. Focus on getting across the personality, needs and aspirations of the individual being interviewed. If personal information is helpful, then include it. For example, saying on the profile that someone is over 67 indicates that they may be retired and this might help explain to the reader the absence of any evidence of being in employment. A picture or their age could help with identification but doesn’t have to be included. Perhaps their favourite films or books might help with knowing the person.

Make sure that it is the information from the tools that is used to create the profile. 

To summarise

• Profiles are unique. Focus on personality traits, strengths, skills and abilities. 
• Highlight what is important to the person. This could include people that they care about/are close to and what is essential to their everyday life 
• Be specific about how they would like to be treated. This shouldn’t read as though it is about how anyone would like to be treated. 
• Put yourself in their shoes. Have you included enough detail to know who they are and what is important to them? If you have doubts, review the information you have gathered. 

I hope this has been useful to teachers planning or delivering Unit F092. Please let us know if you have any further questions or if you would like to chat to us about this subject or any other aspect of our health and social care or child development qualifications. We also welcome ongoing feedback from schools and colleges.

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If you have any questions, you can email us at support@ocr.org.uk or call us on 01223 553998. You can also book a Teams meeting with us directly. 

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About the author

Before joining Cambridge OCR in 2018, Sarah was a teacher and Subject Lead of Health and Social Care and worked in secondary schools and sixth forms in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. She was a sixth form tutor and moderated on a previous Level 3 HSC qualification. She has also worked as a teacher in a social care setting for young people aged 16-18 transitioning from living in care to becoming independent. At Cambridge OCR Sarah has been involved in the redevelopment of Cambridge Nationals in Health and Social Care and Child Development, and the development of the Cambridge Advanced National (AAQ) in Health and Social Care.