Portage is a home-visiting educational service for preschool children (between 0 and 4 years old) and their families who may have special educational needs or disabilities. Portage can be offered to children who are not in an educational setting or who attend an educational setting for less than 15 hours.

A portage worker from Herefordshire Council aims to help develop a quality of life and experience for families and their young children, in which they can learn together, play together, participate and be included in their community – in their own right. The portage worker will work with parents to identify long term goals before starting to take small steps to support the child with their development.

Usually health visitors, paediatricians or physiotherapists refer to the portage service using the Herefordshire portage service referral form. This is a downloadable form for completion offline. View the Herefordshire portage referral criteria 2024.

To find out more about portage, take a look at the National Portage Association website.

Do you have a trained portage practitioner within your setting? If not, are you interested in gaining this qualification? For further enquires please contact Della.Pascoe@herefordshire.gov.uk