Tameside Portage Service
Welcome to the Tameside Portage Service
What is Portage?
Portage is a home-visiting educational service for pre-school children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities) and their families. Portage aims to: work with families to help them develop a quality of life and experience, for themselves and their young children, in which they can learn together, play together, participate and be included in their community in their own right.
Portage workers, play a part in minimising the disabling barriers which confront families who have children with SEND. Portage supports National and Local development of inclusive services for all children. Portage aims to support the acceleration of the development /learning of preschool children who have an identified delay.
Tameside Portage service is registered with the National Portage Association
Children eligible to access Free Entitlement Funding will be expected to take up this offer unless there are exceptional circumstances.
What does Portage offer?
- Home Visits: weekly, fortnightly or monthly
- Helping at Home programme in Partnership with the Early Attachment Service
- Portage Groups held at Children’s Centres across the borough
- Schedule of Growing Skills Assessment
- Support to families to access Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Support to families to access Free Entitlement Funding (FEF)
- School holiday activities
- Special events such as swim sessions
- Support in relation to SEND Pathway
- Preparing information relating to the Early Years SEND panel
- Transition to Early Years Settings/School
Portage Aims
To support the development of young children's play, communication skills, independence, social skills and to encourage full participation in day to day life within the family and beyond the home.
The Portage worker will work alongside parents/carers offering support practical help and ideas to:
- Make learning fun for all the family
- Encourage a child's interests
- Address problematic situations
- Promote development
- Work closely with other involved services
- engage with parents who are happy to participate and practice agreed activities between Portage visits
- to ensure smooth transition to an Early Years setting or School
Who can access the service?
Children who:
- Are aged Birth to 5 Years and have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) e.g. communication difficulties, developmental delay, genetic disabilities
- Live in Tameside
- Are not attending any Early Years setting
How can children be referred?
- Children can be referred to the Portage Service by Early Years professionals ie Paediatrician, Health Visitor, Early Years Worker (with parent’s permission).
- If you require a Portage referral form please contact the Portage Team.
- Please note Parents must be in agreement with the referral.
- A Portage Panel will assess need and offer the most appropriate service.
- Send us a Message. The Portage Panel meets on the 1st Monday of every month.
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Tameside Portage Service
Mossley Children’s Centre
The Rowans
Mossley
OL5 9DR
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