Unit 73: Provide support to maintain and develop skills for everyday life

This unit focuses on supporting individuals to maintain, regain or develop skills for everyday life. It’s about practical independence: the everyday tasks and routines that help someone feel capable, included and in control. The links on this page cover the context for this support, how to plan with the individual, how to provide support in ways that promote active participation, and how to evaluate progress over time.

People may need support with everyday skills for many reasons. It could be because of illness, disability, injury, mental health needs, learning disability, dementia, or a period of crisis such as bereavement or hospital admission. Sometimes skills reduce gradually; sometimes there is a sudden change. Either way, loss of skills can affect confidence and identity. Support should aim to build capability, not create dependence.

At Level 3, you are expected to understand different methods for maintaining and developing skills, and to work with the individual and others to put plans into action. Methods might include step-by-step prompting, modelling, graded assistance (doing less as the person does more), using reminders and visual cues, practising in short sessions, adapting the environment, and using equipment or assistive technology where appropriate. The best method depends on the person and the task. What works for cooking may not work for managing money or using public transport.

Maintaining skills can protect wellbeing in many ways. It can support physical health (through movement and routine), emotional wellbeing (through achievement and purpose), social wellbeing (through participation), and safety (through consistent habits and good judgement). It can also reduce frustration and distress. Progress may be slow. That’s normal. Small steps still matter.

Planning is a partnership. You’ll cover how to identify the skills that need support, and how to agree a plan that feels meaningful to the person. Plans should be realistic and based on strengths as well as needs. It helps to focus on outcomes that matter to the person: “make my own hot drink”, “choose my clothes”, “use my phone to contact my sister”, “walk to the corner shop”, or “manage my medication prompts safely”. Clear goals make it easier to measure progress and stay motivated.

Conflict can sometimes arise during planning. The person may want to do more than others believe is safe, or family members may disagree about what the person should be encouraged to do. Staff may feel pressure to “do it quickly” rather than support the person to practise. You’ll explore sources of conflict and ways to resolve them, such as using agreed risk assessments, involving the right professionals, clarifying roles, and keeping the person’s rights and safety in balance. Calm communication goes a long way.

Support should promote active participation. That means the person is involved as much as possible, doing what they can for themselves with appropriate support. It can be tempting to step in and take over, especially when time is tight. But over time, doing too much for someone can reduce their confidence and ability. A good approach is to offer the least help needed for success, and to reduce support as skills improve.

For example, in a care home kitchen area, a resident might be re-learning how to make a cup of tea after a period of illness. You could lay out the items in the usual order, use simple prompts, and give time for the person to complete each step. If they become stuck, you might point rather than take over. Short. Practical. Repeated. That kind of support can rebuild routine and pride.

Feedback is part of effective support. You’ll cover how to give positive and constructive feedback during activities. Good feedback is specific and focused on effort and strategy, not just the end result: “You remembered to check the hob was off—well done,” or “Let’s try that again more slowly.” This helps the person learn what worked and stay engaged.

Sometimes an individual may become distressed or unable to continue. That could be due to fatigue, frustration, pain, low mood, or feeling overwhelmed. You’ll look at what actions to take in line with agreed ways of working, such as offering a break, changing the activity, using reassurance and supportive communication, and recording what happened. It’s important not to frame distress as “refusal” without understanding the cause. A pause today may help the person succeed tomorrow.

Evaluation keeps support on track. You’ll work with the individual and others to agree criteria and processes for evaluating progress, and to check whether the methods used are effective. Evaluation should be fair and based on evidence: what has improved, what remains difficult, and what support is still needed. It should also consider whether goals need adjusting. Sometimes goals were too ambitious; sometimes the person progresses faster than expected. Both require a plan update.

Recording and reporting are part of safe practice, especially when multiple staff support the same person. Clear notes help the team stay consistent: what prompts were used, what the person managed, what barriers appeared, and what helped. Consistency is often the difference between progress and setbacks.

The links on this page take you through each learning outcome step by step. As you work through them, keep a practical mindset: what does independence look like for this person, in their own life? You’ll probably recognise in your setting that confidence grows when people experience success in ordinary routines. Supporting everyday skills is skilled work—and when it’s done well, it changes daily life.

1. Understand the context of supporting skills for everyday life

2. Be able to support individuals to plan for maintaining and developing skills for everyday life

  • 2.1 Work with an individual and others to identify skills for everyday life that need to be supported
  • 2.2 Agree a plan with the individual for developing or maintaining the skills identified
  • 2.3 Analyse possible sources of conflict that may arise when planning
  • 2.4 Evaluate ways to resolve any possible sources of conflict
  • 2.5 Support the individual to understand the plan and any processes, procedures or equipment needed to implement or monitor it

3. Be able to support individuals to retain, regain or develop skills for everyday life

4. Be able to evaluate support for developing or maintaining skills for everyday life

  • 4.1 Work with an individual and others to agree criteria and processes for evaluating support
  • 4.2 Carry out agreed role to evaluate progress towards goals and the effectiveness of methods used
  • 4.3 Agree revisions to the plan
  • 4.4 Record and report in line with agreed ways of working

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