Portage is a home-visiting education and support service for pre-school children with complex learning needs and developmental delays.
The service helps you understand your child’s development and works with you to help develop an improved quality of life and experience for you and your family.
How portage is delivered
Your family is assigned a portage home visitor who will visit you weekly or every two weeks.
They will advise and demonstrate play activities for you to practice at home that will support your child’s development. They work with you to plan and agree learning goals to meet your child’s individual needs.
If your home environment is not suitable for early learning, your home portage visitor may invite you to go to see them in a children’s centre.
How the service benefits your child
Portage will:
- help you become fully involved in the learning process by creating a positive learning environment at home
- allow you to quickly respond to any changes to learning and adjust and adapt activities to suit your child’s needs
- help your child to benefit from early learning in a comfortable environment
- enable your child to enjoy new play experiences at home
How to get portage
You can be offered portage if your child both:
- is aged six months to nursery entry
- has a moderate or severe delay in more than two areas of development, with one being a cognitive developmental delay
Making a referral
Referrals for portage are usually made to the early years SEND panel from:
- health professionals
- education
- local authority officers
You can also self-refer by completing:
You can learn more about portage on the National Portage Association website.
You can contact the portage team by:
- phone: 0208 583 6270
- email: portage@hounslow.gov.uk
