Rights & choices · England
Choose your evenings and social life
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This guide is for adults in England.
Your social life matters.
Choose your evening
You may want to see friends or go to an event.
You should have a say in your evening.
You may want to stay until the end.
You may want to go home early.
Different people want different things.
Plan the support you need
Sometimes people must leave because staff are changing shifts.
A shift is the time a worker is at work.
Ask why the shift change means you must leave.
Ask the manager to plan your support with you.
Different work times or travel plans might help.
The manager needs to arrange this with staff.
Your care plan should explain the support you need.
Ask whether it includes your evenings.
Ask for a review if your support is not working.
Choices and safety
Ask people to explain any safety worries.
Talk about what could help.
Talk about what you would miss by staying home.
Use your usual way to say what you want.
Tell someone if you disagree with a rule.
People should record your views accurately.
Friendships and relationships matter.
You can ask for help to meet people.
You can read our guides about adult choices and rights.
Campaigns and help
Stay Up Late is a charity that campaigns for change.
Its No Bedtimes campaign challenges rules that cut evenings short.
The links below explain more.
Gig Buddies helps people find friends with shared interests.
It runs in some areas.
A volunteer friend does not replace your care and support.
Use the worksheet to plan an evening.
Write what you want and what help you need.
Ask who will arrange it and when.
An independent advocate can help you speak up.
Ask for help if you are unhappy with restrictions.
You can ask for a review or make a complaint.
What you can do next
Open the worksheet on this page.
Ask someone you trust to help if you want.
Share it when asking for a support review.
Read about Stay Up Late Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- Stay Up Late: the campaign Web page
Campaigning for choice, relationships and a full social life.
- No Bedtimes: campaign and rota resources Web page
Includes an Easy Read campaign guide and a practical staff-rota guide. The launch article dates from 2019.
- No Bedtimes Easy Read guide (PDF) PDFEasy Read
An illustrated campaign leaflet. It includes historical launch and contact information; use the current campaign website for enquiries.
- Find a Gig Buddies project Web pageLocal service
Find participating projects. Availability and joining arrangements vary by area.
- Supported Loving toolkit Web page
Resources about supporting relationships, sexuality, rights and informed choices.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Your social life: staying out late and challenging staff-led curfews
Choosing your evenings, asking for flexible support and challenging rules that cut social life short.
Adults · England · Care and support should reflect the person’s needs and preferences
Your evening matters
Friends, dancing, a pub visit, a celebration or a quiet evening can all matter to wellbeing. Support should reflect the person’s preferences. Staying out late is a choice, not a requirement. People sharing a home do not necessarily want the same evening.
When a staff change cuts an event short
An event finishes at 11pm but everyone must leave at 8.30pm because night staff start at 9pm. Ask what support is needed and why the shift requires this departure. Distinguish staffing problems from specific safety concerns. Routines should not become blanket curfews without considering the individual, the impact and workable alternatives.
Ask management to plan with you
Options include adjusting shifts, dedicated evening support, transport and suitable cover. These are discussion points, not instructions to make workers stay beyond their shifts. Managers must consider safe staffing, employment arrangements and other people’s support. Stay Up Late’s rota guide describes change through planning and consultation.
Check the care plan and funded support
Does the agreed plan already cover evening social activities? If it does, ask why support is not being delivered. If circumstances have changed, request a review from the council or relevant NHS team. Record the effects on friendships and participation. This does not guarantee every outing or unlimited funding; ask for reasons, alternatives and a review date.
Risk assessments should help make life possible
Identify the actual concern, its likelihood and impact, available support and the activity’s benefits. Consider what is lost if the person cannot participate. Is the evidence current and relevant? Travel practice, accessible transport, a quieter space or an agreed contact plan may help. Review restrictions rather than keeping them indefinitely.
Ask whether going home is really the person’s choice
Use the person’s communication methods and allow time to decide. Do not record an imposed departure as their preference. Support a genuine wish to leave too. Record disagreements and seek review. Being made to leave early may raise care and rights concerns; it is not automatically a legal deprivation of liberty.
Adult life includes relationships and choices
Social support should make room for relationships and private life. Staff discomfort is a reason for discussion or training, not an automatic ban. Linked guides explain alcohol, language, consent, capacity and lawful restrictions. Supported Loving offers relationship resources. Consider the individual and other people’s rights without treating adulthood as something to earn.
Stay Up Late and the No Bedtimes campaign
Stay Up Late challenges inflexible rotas, blanket curfews and rules preventing people having the social lives they want. Its campaign includes choosing bedtimes, relationships and who provides support. No Bedtimes includes Easy Read and support-team resources. Campaign materials do not themselves create a legal entitlement to a particular care package.
Gig Buddies and other ways to connect
Gig Buddies matches people with volunteers who share their interests. Check local availability and requirements. It is about friendship, not replacing paid support or statutory services. If someone needs personal care or other support, agree how that will be provided rather than assuming a volunteer can supply it.
Make a plan and ask for a response
Use the worksheet to explain what the person wants, the help needed and proposed arrangements. Ask who will act and when. Record missed or shortened events and reasons. If restrictions continue, seek an advocate, a review or the provider’s and commissioner’s complaints routes. Suspected abuse or unlawful restrictions may need safeguarding or legal advice.
Words you could use
“I want to stay at … until … I have been told to leave because … Please explain whether this is a staffing issue or an individual risk. Please review my support plan with me, consider alternatives and give me a written response and review date.”
More useful links
- Stay Up Late: the campaign Web page
Campaigning for choice, relationships and a full social life.
- No Bedtimes: campaign and rota resources Web page
Includes an Easy Read campaign guide and a practical staff-rota guide. The launch article dates from 2019.
- No Bedtimes Easy Read guide (PDF) PDFEasy Read
An illustrated campaign leaflet. It includes historical launch and contact information; use the current campaign website for enquiries.
- Find a Gig Buddies project Web pageLocal service
Find participating projects. Availability and joining arrangements vary by area.
- Supported Loving toolkit Web page
Resources about supporting relationships, sexuality, rights and informed choices.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- Stay Up Late: Our Fight Web page
Campaign aims about social life, relationships, bedtime and inflexible support arrangements.
- Stay Up Late: No Bedtimes rota guide (PDF) PDF
A provider case study about consulting staff and changing rotas to support evenings.
- Gig Buddies Web page
Volunteer friendship matching, local projects and the distinction from statutory support.
- CQC: Regulation 9, person-centred care Web page
Needs, preferences, involvement, reasons and alternatives when preferences cannot be met.
- CQC: involving people to manage risks Web page
Person-centred, proportionate risk assessment and review.
- SCIE: risk assessment and risk enablement Web page
Considering benefits and harms, evidence, choices and support.
- Care and support statutory guidance Web page
Wellbeing, recreation, personal relationships and person-centred care planning.
- Supported Loving toolkit Web page
Support for personal relationships and balancing rights and risks.
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