Kent Portage

Portage is an Educational Service for pre-school children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, offering bespoke packages of intervention to support a child’s development through Pre-school learning groups and or home learning sessions. Portage supports children’s learning and development using a small steps approach.

Portage Practitioners work in partnership with families, recognising that parents are the best people to teach their child. Parental involvement is essential in both the planning and delivery of activities to support the child's learning.

What is the Portage offer?

• Support and advice either through regular Portage Pre-School Learning Groups or Home Learning Sessions
• Developing ideas which grow from a shared knowledge of your child's development.
• Breaking down activities into small steps to ensure the child’s learning is successful.
• Assessing monitoring and recording the child's progress.
• Working in conjunction with other agencies.
• Transition and support into Early Years provisions.

Working in partnership with families

Using the Kent Best Practice Portage Assessment Checklist linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage, Portage helps children to develop their:

• Communication and language
• Personal Social Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Art and Design.

How to make a referral to Kent Portage

• KCC Portage Referral Form

Contact Details

Email: KentPortage@kent.gov.uk

NHS Children’s Care Coordination Team Referrals

If you need to make a referral to the NHS Children’s Care Coordination Team please visit the NHS Children’s Integrated Therapies website where you can find the referral form and contact details for each area.

What is the Kent Portage Service Assessment Checklist?

Download and access the Portage Checklist Order Form (DOCX, 177.3 KB)

The Kent Portage Service Assessment Checklist supports the assessment of children who have special educational needs and disabilities, focusing on their developmental strengths and needs. Using the Portage checklist will enable a better understanding of each child’s learning making this checklist a useful tool for all children. Celebrating each small success, being able to recognise gaps at a glance and using the checklist as a tool to determine the next steps in a child learning.  It links the behaviours to the early years Foundation Stage curriculum.

The Kent Portage Service Assessment Checklist has been designed as a hard copy which allows it to be shared with families and other professionals and settings. This gives the opportunity for open discussion about each child’s interests and motivation, using the parent’s knowledge of their child and helps professionals to plan effectively.

You can download a PDF of a sample of the Kent Portage Service Assessment Checklist

What is the Portage Developmental Profile?

The Portage Developmental Profile acknowledges current skills clearly showing a child’s achievements and where progress has been made. It allows the parent/practitioner or setting to map a child's progression in a clear and straightforward way. The profile forms a pictorial record of the child’s skill level and achievements.

You can download a PDF of a sample of the Portage Developmental Profile from birth to five years

Portage Checklist Pricing Chart

The Portage Checklists are available in packs of 25, or individually up to 24 copies. Please see below for pricing list. Please note - if you submit an order, we will contact you with postage options and prices. We are not able to despatch orders until payment has been received.

For any queries, please email portagechecklist-orders@kent.gov.uk

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