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Plan a session

Book the slot, complete the session plan, check goals and location, and understand when it is ready to record.

Checked against the screens:

Every organisation can choose its own words for the people and roles it works with. When you are signed in, this guide uses your organisation’s words. Otherwise it uses the product’s own.

Screenshots show website controls checked on 13–14 October 2026. Captions identify live-site captures and local training examples made with the actual website components. No real person’s record is shown. Your permissions, enabled features and organisation’s wording may change what you see.

For staff who can plan work. These instructions describe the current website; your available booking controls follow your role.

Steps

  1. Open Planner. Use Today, This week or This month and check whether the slot already exists.
  2. If authorised to book, choose Create session, complete the booking and use Book session. Otherwise open your assigned slot.
  3. Open the slot and choose Plan now, or Resume planning for preparation you already started.
  4. Check the person, responsible staff, date and times. Complete location, purpose, preparation and relevant goals.
  5. Where you need a room, check that the required space is actually reserved.
  6. Choose Save as draft to return later, or Save plan when the preparation is ready.
  7. Reopen the entry and check its state. A saved draft still shows Scheduled; completed preparation shows Planned ✓.

If it goes wrong

Booking and planning are different jobs

A booking puts a session on the calendar. It answers who and when. Preparation explains what you intend to do and how.

Your manager may already have booked the slot. In that case, open that booking and prepare it. Do not create a second booking.

For a new booking, check your permission to schedule work. Choose the correct young person, staff, date, time and duration before saving.

Finish the preparation, or save a draft

Use Plan now to begin. Resume planning opens preparation saved earlier. Read the existing information before changing it.

Complete the location questions and any required place details. Link relevant goals and explain the purpose, activity and practical preparation.

Save as draft keeps unfinished preparation. It does not mark the plan ready or unlock recording. Use Save plan when ready.

Read any prompt about missing intent or goals before proceeding. An advisory is a chance to improve the plan, not evidence that preparation was completed.

What comes after planning

On the day, record whether the activity was delivered. A delivered answer and completed preparation allow the responsible person to start the write-up.

Record session opens the account of what actually happened. This is a separate task from planning. The write-up later goes for sign-off.

If planning is returned, read the reason and choose Make the changes. Use Resubmit planning when corrected. This is different from a returned write-up.

Check what the calendar is showing

Planner controls for Day, Week, Month and All views
The live Planner offers Day, Week, Month and All views. Choose the time span that fits your task. Select the image to enlarge it.

The calendar can show different dates, views and subsets of work. Check the displayed period first, then any staff or status filter. A booking outside those selections can exist without appearing in the current view.

A label indicating preparation is needed is not a statement that the visit did not happen. Preparation, attendance and completion are separate pieces of information.

Choose the right people

Select the intended young person and the staff responsible for delivery. Where you are booking on someone else's behalf, check that person explicitly. Do not assume the signed-in account is the planned lead.

For work involving additional staff, record them through the offered co-delivery controls. A name mentioned in preparation notes does not necessarily grant access or place someone on the delivery roster.

Time and duration

Enter the real planned start and duration. Check the date as well as the clock time, particularly after moving between weeks. Use the allowed increments shown by the current form.

Pickup, the activity start and the eventual finish can be different times. Planning records the intention; the write-up should later record what actually happened. Do not force actual times to match a plan that changed.

Describe the purpose

Explain what you intend to work on and how the activity supports the person's goals. Include enough practical detail for an authorised colleague to understand the plan. Avoid vague entries such as 'usual activity' when the plan needs a clear purpose.

Where the form asks for goals, choose relevant active goals. If none fit, follow the explanation the form provides or speak to the responsible colleague. Do not link an unrelated goal merely to satisfy a required field.

A location is not always a room booking

A location tells people where the visit is planned. A room booking holds a particular space for a time. Selecting a venue, typing a place name or writing 'room booked' in notes is not a substitute for a successful room reservation.

Where room controls are offered, check the room, times and availability result. Read any capacity, closure or overlap message and use the alternative suggested. A room that was available earlier may have been taken before your save completes.

Extra stops and changes

Where the form offers more than one venue or stop, check each stop's times and room requirements. Do not assume that choosing the first location reserves every space needed.

After changing the time, duration, location or delivery staff, read the resulting status and any approval message. Recheck rooms rather than relying on the previous booking.

When saving does not give a clear answer