The National Portage Association (NPA) has 153 registered Portage Services in the UK. It provides a home teaching service for preschool children with special educational needs, including physical, learning and behavioural difficulties, and their parents. It also provides training programmes, and support and information for parents and professionals.
A charitable company with a board of trustees, the NPA monitors standards of training and service delivery. Currently, it receives funding from the Department for Education for areas such as quality assurance, research and website development.
Based on the principle that parents are the key figures in the care and development of their child, the NPA helps parents to be confident in this role whatever their child's needs may be. It works towards the child's full participation in day-to-day life in the family and inclusion in the local and wider community.
PLANNING WITH PARENTS
The Portage Home Visitor (PHV) works with parents to prepare an individually designed programme of activities for the parent and child to practise. This is based on an assessment of social, cognitive, self-help and motor skills and language development. The child's progress is regularly checked and recorded, and new goals and activities agreed.
Using a broad range of materials, including observational records and developmental profiles, the PHV provides a framework for parents to discuss their child's individual strengths and needs.
Records of the child's progress and issues raised by the family form the basis of ongoing reviews with the parent/carer. Plans and goals are reviewed twice yearly.
The PHV's working week is 18.5 to 37 hours; sometimes evening work is required to facilitate working parents.
TRAINING
PHVs need a good understanding of child development, communication and people skills, the ability to give clear explanations to parents, sensitivity and tact when giving advice, and accurate report and record-keeping skills.
Employers usually ask for a professional qualification in nursing, social work or education, such as a degree in teaching or social work. Alternatively, a Level 4 N/SVQ in Early Years Care and Education is required.
Newly recruited PHVs register with the NPA and attend a three-day full-time or part-time equivalent basic training workshop led by an NPA accredited trainer. Following this, there is six months supervision by qualified colleagues before becoming a qualified PHV.
Once qualified, regular supervision meetings take place with a senior colleague, discussing individual children and portage practice. The employer may also provide professional development programmes and opportunities for networking with other professionals.
Other NPA training includes advanced modules in Play and Home Visit, Emotional Support and Working with Multiple Learning Difficulties, and a customised BTEC Level 3 in Portage Skills accredited by Edexel and Training for Trainers Course for those working towards Accredited Trainer Status.
Portage Curriculum for Professional Development is designed for experienced portage personnel, parents or professionals. Delivered at national or regional level, the modules available are: Working with children who have social communication difficulties/ autism spectrum disorders; Working with children who have profound and multiple needs (complex and sensory); Understanding and Responding to Children's Challenging Behaviour.
PHVs need a clean driving licence and the use of a car to be able to get from home to home with the resources that are needed for the visit.
CASE STUDY TRAMAYNE GIBSON
Tramayne completed the Advanced GNVQ in Health and Social Care and began her career as a nursery assistant and then assistant manager in a day nursery. Later she became a community nursery nurse for the Health Visiting Service. She gained the HNC in Early Childhood Studies at evening classes.
In January 2005, she joined Hampshire County Council's Basingstoke Portage Service. Hampshire offers three types of provision: Core Portage for children with significant delay in their development; Portage Plus for children who have significant behaviour difficulties; and Outreach Support, provided to early years settings when a child's development and/or behaviour causes concern.
Tramayne completed the initial four-day Portage training and later Advanced Portage, Behavioural Management, Child Protection/Safeguarding and First Aid courses.
'With a caseload of up to 13 children aged from birth to five years, my typical day involves packing a toy bag of resources for each of the children I visit - usually three. I select the resources for each child's current level of development and what needs to be practised to achieve long-term goals.
'Each visit lasts about an hour. I work from a can-do approach, breaking down activities and tasks into small steps, modelling and working alongside parents to fully include them in their child's progress. It may be threading or building bricks. Having practised several tasks, one is selected as the task for the week.
'I share information and celebrate achievements with the parent. Then I confirm the next visit, usually on the same day and time the following week. I record my visits at the end of the day.
'I use the Portage checklist and Early Support Developmental Journals for recording development and for planning the child's next steps. I write a Record of Achievement report for the children on a sixmonthly basis, setting goals and recording the child's current level of development.
'Working so closely with children and parents is such a privileged role - to see and celebrate the small steps the children work so hard to achieve.'
Tramayne is completing a foundation degree in Early Years Childcare and Education and will start a BA honours degree in Education in September.
FURTHER INFORMATION
- The National Portage Association. King's Court. 17 School Road. Hall Green. Birmingham. B28 8JG. Tel: 0121 244 1807. E-mail: npa@portage.uk.co.uk www.portage.org.uk
- NPA publications: Accredited Trainer Status explanatory leaflet; Making Sure You Have Got What It Takes - Core Competencies for PHVs; Pathways to Portage; NPA Information Pack; Portage Post, the National Portage Association's Newsletter advertises those known to the Association.
- Children's Workforce Development Council www.cwdcouncil.org.uk
- Community Service volunteers www.csv.org.uk
