Portage is a home-based early education service developed and designed for families who have a pre-school child with additional needs. This can include children who may have difficulties from birth or whose development becomes a cause for concern.
The Portage Service recognises that parents are the first and most important educators of their children and that they play a key role in supporting their child’s development. Portage home visitors therefore work in partnership with parents to enable the child to learn new skills. It is a flexible service designed to meet the needs of individual children and their families.
The portage visitor makes regular home visits to each family. During the first few weeks, the parents and the portage worker record what the child can already do and choose the skills they would like the child to learn next. Together they decide on the most appropriate play activities to enable the child to learn these new skills. Families incorporate these activities into their everyday play situations, which they are then able to share and discuss at their next home visit.
Children can be referred to the Portage Service directly by parents themselves or by other agencies. The service works very closely with a range of professionals, but especially those within the Child Development Centre. They link with the Early Support Co-ordinator and are proactive in their support and use of the Early Support materials.
For children in early years settings, the portage visitor works closely with the Early Years Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) support team. Joint visits will often take place both to the home and the setting, and information is shared to support the writing of Individual Education Plan (IEP) targets.
Families who are accessing Portage are invited to participate in our 'Stay and Play' sessions. These sessions are informal and fun and offer opportunities for Portage children, siblings and parents to access a wide variety of play activities.
We hope that sessions give an opportunity for families to meet on a regular basis and enjoy playing together with all children. Sessions take place each Friday during term time from 9.30am - 11.30am.
Contact:
Karen Appleby, Portage Manager
Ashby Turn Children’s Centre
Ashby High Street
Scunthorpe
North Lincolnshire
Tel: 01724 842276
Email:
Karen.appleby@northlincs.gov.uk