Early Years Portage Service

About Early Years Portage Service

Early Years Portage is the home visiting educational service for pre-school children with complex additional needs and their families.

The service:

• helps families and children learn together
• provides strategies and targets to support children’s development
• provides ideas for play and teaching activities to support parents and carers in stimulating their child’s development
• supports parents and carers in developing their knowledge regarding special educational needs processes and procedures

This service is free for eligible children and families.

It is based on the portage model for pre-school children. Find out more about the portage model on the National Portage Association website.

How we can help you

The service will support you to:

• understand the developmental and educational needs of your child
• identify and understand behaviours so that you can introduce strategies at home to help your child develop and learn

We will:

• work with you and other professionals to identify next steps and how you can support your child to achieve them

• help you plan for a successful transition into both an early years setting and school
• tell you about educational services available in Wokingham, to help you decide which setting is going to meet your child’s needs
• signpost you to other services and if appropriate, refer you directly to other services
• offer advice on local and statutory processes to support children with complex SEND including the Education Health and Care needs assessment process

How to access the service

You can access this service if your child:

• is under the age of 4
• lives in Wokingham Borough
• has a significant delay in their cognition and learning and another area of their development, or has a diagnosed condition that affects their cognition and learning
• has been referred by a health visitor, paediatrician or other health professional

Referral from a professional

With your permission, your health visitor, paediatrician or other health professional supporting your child will complete a referral form.

The referrals are made to the Early Years Support Panel. The multidisciplinary panel meets monthly during term time to discuss all referrals and agree on the support and interventions a child will need.

Contact the Early Years Portage Service team

Get in touch with the team if you have any questions about the service.

Email: portage@wokingham.gov.uk