About us

We're qualified Early Years (EY) practitioners experienced in both child development and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We've undertaken professionally recognised training to enable us to practice as Portage workers. Barnsley Portage Service is a registered service with the National Portage Association (NPA) and we work to a professional NPA Code of Practice.

Meet the team

Our team is made up of:

• Principal Educational Psychologist:
  • Joanne Patterson (team manager)
• Portage Practitioner:
  • Sheradene Faver
  • Kate Bray
  • Ebony Wilkinson

What we do

Barnsley Portage Service works specifically with children aged 0 to 4 years who have significant delays in their development. We work together with parents/carers in the family home to provide home-based development and learning support for children.

Our Portage leaflet outlining how we work can also be downloaded.

We work collaboratively with families, services and settings to facilitate early identification of needs to reduce barriers to learning and support development at the earliest opportunity.

How we work

Our work is underpinned by the Portage principles, of which working in partnership with children and families is fundamental. We offer a needs-led service providing regular home visits by a trained Portage worker. We work together with parents and carers to identify relevant child-centred goals and implement a small steps approach to development and learning that builds on children’s strengths. We model and build on play and interactions for parents/carers to practice at home that support their child’s progress.

We work within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and a developmental progress tool is used with parents/carers to monitor and record progress and plan next steps. Portage work in partnership with parents/carers to prepare and plan for their child’s transition into a setting. We provide outcome focused reports informed by parent/carers views that support transition through a shared understanding of needs and strengths and strategies to achieve progress towards outcomes. We offer Portage groups for families as a chance for children to learn through play alongside other children and for families to share and build on their expertise as educators of their children.

Portage work with other services within Education Inclusion Services (EIS) to build capacity in Early Years settings through a centralised training offer.

How to access Portage 

Portage work with children aged between 0 and 4 years who have been identified by professionals already working with the family, as having a significant delay in their development.

Requests for Portage involvement are usually submitted to the service by health or social care professionals involved with the family.

To inform decision making with families about support for a child and whether a request for Portage involvement might be appropriate, professionals should refer to, and use the Portage Request for Involvement flowchart.

The Overview of the Early Years Developmental Progress Tool should be used to support assessment of a child’s developmental stage.

Following use of the flowchart and the overview of Early Years Developmental Progress tool if assessment of a child’s development is showing significant delay then a Portage request for involvement form can be completed and emailed to us at portage@barnsley.gov.uk. 

Useful resources

Our Learning together at home document has been developed by the Portage Service for families to support their child’s development. The document can be used by practitioners and families and provides guidance on play and interaction approaches that will support a child’s development. It can be used by all families, but particularly for families who have concerns about their child’s development and/or for families who have requested Portage involvement.