Portage for Professionals
Supporting practitioners and services delivering Portage across the UK.
Portage is a family-centred early intervention framework supporting professionals to deliver personalised goal-focused learning for young children with additional needs through everyday activities and collaboration.
The Portage model is underpinned by a strong emphasis on collaborative, multi-agency working. It recognises that optimal developmental outcomes are achieved when professionals and families share expertise, establish common goals, and implement consistent intervention strategies. Practitioners work in partnership with a range of professionals—including speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, teachers, and health visitors—to deliver a coordinated and holistic approach. Effective communication is central, with regular information sharing and joint planning maintaining alignment around the child’s needs and progress.
In practice, this collaboration may involve attending multidisciplinary meetings, contributing to integrated support plans, and modelling strategies for both professionals and parents during home visits. For example, a Portage practitioner may demonstrate play-based approaches to support communication targets identified by a speech and language therapist, promoting consistency across settings. This coordinated approach supports continuity, reduces duplication, and ensures that interventions are meaningful, practical, and embedded within everyday routines.
Partnership working with early years settings is a key element of this model. Portage practitioners may visit nursery environments to share strategies, model effective interactions, and support staff in adapting activities or the environment to meet individual needs. They may also liaise regularly with key staff to review progress, align targets, and ensure consistency between home and educational settings. This collaborative approach enhances practitioner confidence and reinforces learning and development opportunities across all contexts.
Portage practitioners may also engage with the wider family network, where appropriate, to provide guidance, reassurance, and clear communication. This ensures that family members are well informed and confident in supporting the child’s development.
Within Portage services, practitioners are supported through structured supervision with line managers and ongoing peer support, fostering reflective practice and continuous professional development.
Partnership with Parents & Carers
The National Portage Association requires all Portage Home Visiting services to apply for registration, please download a application form from the right hand side of this page.
Explore our upcoming Portage for Parents courses, designed to support your child’s development through practical guidance and expert-led sessions.
Access helpful resources for parents, offering guidance, tools, and support to enhance your child’s learning and development at home.
NPA Stamp of Approval Scheme
The NPA Stamp of Approval Scheme is an award given to early year’s settings who have demonstrated they deliver inclusive early years education based upon Portage Principles.
Join the National Portage Association to join a network of professionals dedicated to improving outcomes of young children with SEND.
Partnership with Parents & Carers
The National Portage Association requires all Portage Home Visiting services to apply for registration, please download a application form from the right hand side of this page.
Explore our upcoming Portage for Parents courses, designed to support your child’s development through practical guidance and expert-led sessions.
Access helpful resources for parents, offering guidance, tools, and support to enhance your child’s learning and development at home.
NPA Stamp of Approval Scheme
The NPA Stamp of Approval Scheme is an award given to early year’s settings who have demonstrated they deliver inclusive early years education based upon Portage Principles.
Join the National Portage Association to join a network of professionals dedicated to improving outcomes of young children with SEND.
Find a Portage service near you
Search the map to find your nearest accredited Portage service.
Please note that local authority boundaries may mean the nearest service geographically is not necessarily the one that covers your home address. However, services will be happy to redirect you if needed.
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