Special Education Needs / Inclusion
Portage
Portage is a home teaching service for pre-school children with special needs and their families. It supports parents in developing their skills to help them teach their children.
It is called Portage after the town in Wisconsin, USA, where the service was first introduced in the 1960s. It was developed as a way of supporting parents in helping their children. The scheme was different from other educational services for young children, instead of taking children to the service, the service was brought to the children and their families in their own home. The home became the setting for the teaching and the parents became the teachers. The success of the scheme encouraged professionals in the UK to take up the Portage idea in 1976. There are now about 150 Portage services registered with the National Portage Association operating in the UK.
Portage is a partnership between parents and professionals. The aim is to equip parents with the skills and confidence they need to help their child. Each programme is tailored to meet the requirements of the individual child. The emphasis is on the positive, finding out and building on what a child can do. During the regular home visits, the Portage Home Visitor works with parents to design one or more activities which the parents can practice with their child each day. Each activity is one small step towards achieving a new skill.
The child's progress is regularly reviewed and goals are set for the next few months. These long term goals, as well as the weekly teaching activities, are negotiated with parents and other professionals involved with the child. In this way parents play a significant part in directing their child's early education.
A special toy library for pre-school children with Special Needs is held at Poole Central Library on the third Tuesday of the month from 1.00-2.30pm, term-time only. Children are welcome to stay and try out the toys and are even able to take some away.
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