Early Years SEND and Portage Team

The Early Years SEND and Portage Team give advice and support about children under 5 with SEND to

• Early Years education and childcare providers
• families

The Early Years SEND and Portage Team provide

• Early support through person centred key working approaches, to assess and plan for each child's needs
• Advice and guidance to Early Years education providers on how to apply the SEND Code of Practice (2015)
• Training
  • National Portage workshop
  • SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) roles and responsibilities
  • Early Years SEND network (support for SENCOs and settings
  • bespoke training on request
  • Dingley's Promise training
• Support for statutory assessment processes towards Education Health and Care plans.

The team work with parent carers and early years providers to make sure that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have full access to their early education entitlement. They do this through early identification and early intervention. They make sure that children have the right support, at the right time, and in the right place in readiness for entry to school.

The team is accredited with the National Portage Association Welcome | National Portage Association 

The team includes SEND specialist outreach workers, early education SEND specialists and qualified teachers.

The Early Years SEND and Portage Team also work with health and care services. This is to make sure that targeted support is put in a child's learning and development plan.