About our team
We support families in their home, when they have a child under five who has significant or profound Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). Our aims are to work with families and children so that they can learn together, play together, participate and be included in their community.
Our team of Inclusion Practitioners support children to achieve success using a small steps, play based, child centred approach. We are registered with the National Portage Association Welcome | National Portage Association recognised nationally as an early intervention service. We work collaboratively with parents in the home, in the community and with early years settings and partner agencies, to promote inclusive practice and to build confidence and resilience. This ensures that support is offered, at the right time and in the right place.
One of the key principles of support from an Inclusion Practitioner is to work together with parents and carers on a regular basis to support the child’s learning. We will ensure that your child is referred to other agencies where appropriate to enable continued support for any ongoing need, for example, physiotherapy or speech and language therapy.
To access support for families the child must
- Show significant or profound delay in at least two or more areas of development, one of which must be cognition (acquiring knowledge or understanding)
- Present with significant and complex neuro-disability, for example, autism spectrum disorder, or be emerging neurodivergent. This must be significantly impacting on their cognition, their ability to learn and their ability to participate in daily activities.
- Present as pre-verbal or have significantly impaired communication.
- Have an existing diagnosis of a medical or genetic condition, where there is likely to be significant or profound delay to include cognition.
Support available
When we receive a request for support if it is identified that the child has a significant or profound level of need an initial visit will be offered. We meet with parent carers to identify family priorities, examples of areas some families request support are, play, communication, sleep, diet and emotional regulation.
If during the initial visit it is identified that the family would like support and the child has a significant or profound level of need, an Inclusion Practitioner will be allocated to the family. Practitioners will use the Portage Model to offer guidance and support in the following areas; family focus, child led play and structured teaching. Working in partnership with parents to determine priority areas of support.
Inclusion Practitioners will spend time with the parent carers and their child to assess their child’s strengths and needs and complete a developmental assessment. Once an assessment has been completed, they will create individualised small step targets for parents to support their child’s learning and development, matched to the child’s pace and style of learning to enable continued success. The Inclusion Practitioners also share information and signpost families to other services and agencies for further support.
The Inclusion Practitioners work in partnership with parent/carers and early years settings (nursery, pre-school, childminder) to promote inclusion and consistency of approaches which support all areas of the child’s development. Inclusion Practitioners can support transitions for the child into early years settings and schools including advice on requesting Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
Who can refer
- parents or carers
- early years settings if they have attended a virtual drop in session to discuss the child and evidenced a graduated response and this was an agreed outcome.
- any health, social care or education professional working with the child or family (or both)