What is portage?
Portage is a home visiting educational service for pre-school children with additional support needs and their families.
The first such scheme was developed in Portage, Wisconsin, USA in the early 1970's to meet the needs of the young chilren living in rural communities. Since its introduction in the UK, the success of the approach has lead to an increasing number of services being developed nationally. There are now 140 services registered with the National Portage Association in Britain.
The aim of Portage is to suport the development of young children's play, communication, relationships and full participation in day to day life within the family and, beyond the home, their inclusion in the wider community. Support offered through Portage is based on the principle that parents are the key figures in the care and development of their child and Portage aims to help parents to be confident in this role whatever their child's needs may be.
In order to do this the Portage Home Visitor works alongside parents offering practical help and ideas to:
- make learning fun for all the family;
- encourage a child's interests;
- address problematic situations.
