Type of service: Assessment, Nursery and pre-schools, Outreach - education

The Portage approach involves: Partnership with parents, carers and other professionals with a commitment to inclusion; Empowering parents to build on their child’s strengths using a positive approach; Using small steps to support learning; Learning through play and having fun; and Working together and celebrating achievements with the child and their family. Portage has a track record of supporting families of pre-school children with significant developmental delay or challenging behaviour. Portage home visitors are experienced early years practitioners who have experience in understanding, recognising and developing the individual needs of children. Working in partnership: Portage is a partnership between the parent, child, and home visitor. For Portage to be effective, parents must be committed to carrying out agreed activities and/or strategies consistently and on a regular basis. Portage is at its most effective when the Portage home visitor works closely with all those involved with the child, for example, therapists, health visitors, educational psychologists and early years settings. This helps to ensure that everyone works towards shared common goals. Core Portage is for children who have a significant delay in at least two areas of their development. Portage Plus is for families of pre-school children with significant behaviour difficulties. This support extends to the early years setting that the child attends.

Aimed at: Child

Specialisms: Has autism-specific elements

Other specialisms: Challenging behaviour, Learning disability