Who Are We

The EY SEND Support and Inclusion Team are made up of three teams; Portage, the SENIF Finance and Monitoring Team and the SEND Support and Inclusion Practitioner Team. Our vision is to enable all children to receive the right support, at the right time and in the right way.

Portage

The Kent Portage Service is registered with the National Portage Association and meets the criteria and guidelines of the organisation providing a co-ordinated, high-quality service that enhances the educational development of the individual child with complex needs. The service works in partnership with parents and builds on the strengths and abilities of the child using a can-do approach.

Portage will provide support through a blended offer to develop children’s cognitive skills, communication and relationships, using the Portage Principles. Activities are planned that meet each child’s developmental and families’ individual needs.

SENIF Finance and Monitoring Team

The SENIF Finance and Monitoring Team deliver the Local Authority’s statutory obligation to make available a SEN Inclusion Fund (SENIF) in Kent, which is distributed to providers, according to set criteria, in an equitable and timely manner, such that the positive impact of the funding can be felt by the child as soon as possible.

By Quality Assuring SENIF agreements by the Monitoring Officer Team, children are enabled to fully access the Early Years Foundation Stage and make progress in line with their individual abilities.

EY SEND and Support and Inclusion Practitioners

The SEND Support and Inclusion Practitioners work collaboratively with Early Years Provisions, providing bespoke, time limited interventions, to enable Early Years Practitioners and Childminders to meet the needs and improve the outcomes ,of very young children with SEND in mainstream settings.

The SEND Support and Inclusion Practitioners offer bespoke advice, coaching and modelling of strategies and interventions to Early Years Practitioners and Childminders to build capacity and confidence in supporting children with SEND within their mainstream setting.