Portage - supporting pre-school children with SEND

The Kent Portage Team supports pre-school children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND). We work with families, focusing on planned play activities to help each child’s development.

If there are concerns about a child’s development and they are not meeting key milestones we may be able to offer some additional help.

Portage is a place you feel so relaxed among others in the same situation and not judged yourself as a parent of your child.

Parent

We support pre-school children who have a significant delay in 2 or more areas of their development. Children do not need to have a diagnosis for a referral to be made, parents and professionals can make referrals.

Contact us to make a referral:

What we offer

We offer weekly pre-school learning groups, home learning sessions and virtual support. We could offer a combination of learning groups and home learning sessions.

  • Sensory groups usually support the youngest children and have a music and tactile focus.
  • Early learning groups plan play activities for more actively mobile children.
  • Pre-school learning groups support your child’s next steps towards attending an early years setting (for example a nursery, childminder or pre-school).

These sessions support each child’s learning and development through play, giving families an opportunity to try out different approaches and strategies in the session as well as ideas to try at home.

Portage has given us ideas of what we can do to try and encourage development and progress. It has also given us positivity at each visit, which as parents really helps.

Parent

Home learning sessions are either weekly, fortnightly, monthly or virtually. Portage Practitioners work with each family to assess children’s strengths and needs, and then create individual play activities that support the child and family.

Websites parents may find useful

Or visit one of the following charities for your area: