Portage Service

The Portage Inclusion and Advisory Service is a Home-visiting Educational Service for pre-school children (aged 0-4 years) with special educational needs or a disability (SEND) and their families, who live in Wandsworth. It is part of the Early Years Inclusion Service.

Portage offers support to parents whose children are aged 0-4 years and have a delay in two or more areas of development, one of which is a cognitive delay of approximately 6 months or a diagnosis which is known to affect development.

Portage works in partnership with parents and carers of disabled children through fun play sessions, and breaking learning into small steps to help parents support their child’s development in all areas of learning:

• play skills,
• sensory skills,
• physical skills,
• communication,
• cognition- thinking and learning,
• imagination, 
• social and self help skills.

The Portage Inclusion Advisors work as part of a wider multi-professional team to support families. This may include medical professionals, therapists, social workers, voluntary services, educational settings, and colleagues from the Early Years Inclusion Advisory Service and wider SEND & Inclusion Services.

If you think your child would benefit from Portage, a health professional who knows your child can complete the referral form attached to this page and send to Michelle.Nicholls@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk or call Michelle on 020 8871 8393 for more information.  Parents can self-refer by phone or email.

When referrals are accepted Portage will contact the family and arrange an initial visit to explain Portage teaching methods (a small steps approach to learning). A Portage Inclusion Advisor is then allocated, and the parents receive regular home visits to support the development of their child's play and learning. Portage also offer 1:1 and group play sessions at the SEND & Inclusion Hub and support to parents to find an appropriate nursery early years education place for their child and prepare and support with the transition into nursery.