SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist Service

SEND & Portage Early Years Stay and Play session

After an initial home visit families are invited to our Stay and Play sessions that run across the city monthly while waiting for further input.

SEND & Portage Early Years specialist teaching sessions

The main focus of the groups will be communication, requesting, making choices, shared attention and turn taking. The group will follow the same routine each week which will include:

• Arrival activity
• Welcome song & Makaton sign
• Attention activity
• Modelling and practicing focus of the week
• Messy play/free play
• Singing
• Questions

These groups are an opportunity for parents to be actively involved in their child’s play and to practice new strategies alongside the SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist.

We cover all areas within the Southampton City Council boundaries. Our offices are based in Southampton Civic Centre but we carry out all of our work in the home or at early year’s settings and venues across the city.

We support children and families in Southampton who meet the following eligibility criteria:

• The family live in the Southampton local authority area
• The child is aged 0-3 years
• The child’s development is delayed by at least six months in two or more areas of development
• Parental consent has been obtained
• The child’s parent/carer must be available to meet the SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist on a regular basis

Note: If a child attends an early years setting for more than 15 hours a week, this may affect the type of support that the SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist is able to offer.

SEND & Portage Early Years home teaching sessions

Families receive a weekly home teaching session from their Portage teacher, usually 6-8 visits.

This may include: 

• Assessment of the child’s strengths and the areas that they find difficult
• Learning through play in partnership with a parent/carer
• Advice on pre-schools/early years settings and on the support that the child may need when they start at a setting
• Signposting to other services

Requests for SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist involvement can be made for children aged from birth to 3 years who have/are expected to have a delay of at least six months in two or more areas of development.

The SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist service has an open referral system; therefore anyone can refer to the service so long as they have the parent’s permission, including the family themselves.

Download the referral form. 

See also the SEN Support Service Referral Form – Early Years.

Upon receipt of a referral a Senior SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist will contact the family to arrange an initial home visit.

If the service is felt to be appropriate then this information will be communicated to the family during the initial home visit and followed up with a letter to the referrer.

Parents/carers and children are partners in all aspects of the SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist Service delivery.

All sessions in the home or at group includes both adult and child-led activities so that parents/carers and children have the opportunity to lead and influence the play and learning that takes place.

SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist Service will take into consideration the child’s likes and dislikes, the family’s day-to-day lives and their aspirations for their child, these are all included in the planning of each play session.

If the service is working with a family where by English is not their first language, they may ask if there’s a family member or friend who could act as a translator. If there isn’t anyone or the family don’t feel comfortable with this, employing a translator would be considered.

All of our work takes place in venues across the city and on home visits.

All SEND & Portage Early Years Specialists have:

• Foundation degree level qualifications in child development
• Significant experience of working within Early Years
• Significant experience of Special Educational Needs
• Significant experience of working with families
• Completed Portage Workshop

Staff receive on-going training through the National Portage Development training program, as well as through Southampton City Council’s workforce development programme.

When necessary, we seek and provide additional training based on needs identified by the SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist, relating to working with children with specific special educational needs and disabilities.

Each family is asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist sessions.

During the initial home visit families are advised that they can call the manager and discuss any concerns or comments.

You can also go to the compliments, comments and complaints page.

Or write to:

Customer Relations Team
Legal, HR & Democratic Services
Room 210, Municipal Block
Southampton City Council
Civic Centre
Southampton
SO14 7LY

If you would like more information about our service please call 023 8083 4375.

You can find out more about the portage home teaching program by going to the national Portage website.