Portage (part of the Virtual School, Early Identification Phase)

Portage Workers support families and their young children individually in their homes, or in small groups, to promote the child’s development through play. Our aim is to provide bespoke teaching and learning opportunities to develop skills, confidence, and enable families to feel included in their community. 

The team are part of the Virtual School, Early Identification Phase.  Somerset Portage is a member of the National Portage Association (NPA) which provides a quality framework and training for Portage services across England and Wales. We follow the core Portage principals of working in partnership with families, and placing the needs of the child at the centre of any decision making. 

The Portage offer includes the following interventions:

Stay and Play Group Intervention 

• All children who meet the Portage eligibility will be offered Stay and Play intervention sessions. Those who do not attend after a period of time will be contacted for a support conversation and signposting to other services.  
• Fortnightly small group parent/carer and child sessions are held in different localities (Taunton, Yeovil, Frome, Glastonbury, Chard, Bridgwater) with opportunities to share ideas, resources, and questions with a Portage Worker and with other families. Groups are held during term time periods.  

Home Visiting Intervention 

• Children with the most complex needs are prioritised for a home visiting intervention.  A Team Around the Child meeting to bring together the family, the professionals involved, and the Virtual School will be required before home intervention can begin.  
• An initial home visit is carried out to understand the child’s areas of strength and needs to inform the intervention.  There will usually be two workers at this initial visit, one to talk with the parent carer, and one to interact with the child. 
• We will then arrange weekly visits of one hour to the home from a named Portage Worker for a maximum of 18 weekly sessions*.   
• The Portage Worker will work with the family and other professionals to create a Personalised Portage Plan (PPP) with identified outcomes and activities to support development.  
• The Portage Worker will liaise with the child’s early years provider or school to share ideas for supporting the child’s needs.  

Other families will be offered Stay and Play or focus group interventions.    

* Intervention may be extended in exceptional circumstances to a maximum of an additional four sessions with agreement from the Senior Expert Advisor for Early Identification from the Virtual School.  

Focus Group Intervention 

• This small group intervention will be flexible in location and focus, according to the needs of groups of children. For example, groups of children with a similar need, such as autism, may be invited to a focus group.  

Starting School Intervention  

• This small on-line group intervention is run over five sessions in the summer term. 
• It is available to parent carers of children who have previously received a Portage home visiting or group intervention.   
• The aim is to provide information and resources to families of children who are starting school in the coming September to support a successful transition.   
• There are also opportunities to ask questions, share worries, and hear from parents whose children have been through this transition before. 

Browse Portage Events

Eligibility

How to access Portage:  

To access the Portage offer a professional will be required to contact the Somerset Inclusion Advice Line on 0300 123 2224 to discuss the child’s needs.  This could be a health professional, for example, a health visitor, paediatrician, speech and language therapist or occupational therapist. It could also be a SENCO or keyperson from an early years education provision.

The team will respond through a specialist call back and triage.  

Further information may be requested such as Paediatric assessments or Schedule of Growing Skills assessments.  

As the professional who knows the child and family, we would ask you to organise a Team Around a Child (TAC) meeting which we would step into.   At this meeting, the pathway for intervention will be discussed.  

NB: Referrals to Portage are no longer required using an Early Help Assessment.  

Eligibility 

1. A child will be between birth and 4 years to access the Portage offer.  
2. A child will have significant developmental delays of at least half their chronological age in at least 2 areas of their development. This will need to be evidenced by a professional.  
3. When allocating Portage workers to support a child for home, Stay and Play or focus group intervention, we will consider:
   the age of the child,
   where they live,
   their level and type of need,
   their family circumstances,
   how much time they spend in an early years setting,
   types of other targeted interventions they may be receiving (e.g. speech and language programme).
   
4. Parent carers must agree to the request for support and understand the aims of Portage. For Portage home intervention parent carers must be available for weekly home visits from a Portage Worker.  Portage is a two-way commitment from both the family and the Virtual School.

Referrals are no longer required for Portage. Professionals can contact the Somerset Inclusion Advice Line for a specialist call back with the Virtual School – Early Identification phase.   Following the call back, some children will receive direct Portage intervention.  

Type of provision

Specialist - This is for a small group of people with significant special educational needs and disabilities and their families