Portage and Early Support

Common Questions

For your child to be eligible for Portage and Early Support, they must meet the following conditions:

Your child must live in Barking and Dagenham
Your child must be under 3 years old
Your child must not be in a day nursery full-time (full time means from 9am to 5pm or longer)
Your child must have a significant developmental delay in 2 or more areas of development. (For example, your child may have a delay in physical development or they may have a delay in developing how they communicate and use language, how they learn and play, how they help themselves or how they form relationships with people. Please remember that these examples are not a full list). If your child does not have a developmental delay now, you must have been told by a doctor that it is likely they could have significant developmental delay in the future, for example, if your child was born prematurely
You must want to be involved with Portage and Early Support

Common questions about Portage and Early Support

What happens after my child has been referred to Portage and Early Support?

After your child has been referred to us, for example by your health visitor, and the Head of Portage and Early Support has visited them, you will be able to go to the Portage Parent Group and, the Portage 'Explorers' group. 'Explorers' is a group where parents can support their child in exploring their senses and making music.

Please remember that your child must meet all the conditions above in order for them and you to go to these groups.

Are there any other groups I can go to with my child?

If we invite you, you and your child can also attend language groups and infant massage sessions. We will invite you to these groups if we think your child would benefit from going to them because of their needs.

You can discuss going to these groups with a Portage and Early Support speech and language therapist, your Portage and Early Support home visitor or a Portage and Early Support worker.

How often will you visit me?

After your child has been referred you to our Portage and Early Support services and after the Head of Portage and Early Support has visited you, we will visit you every month or every 3 to 6 months depending on how often you would like us to visit.

If you agree, we will visit your child every week or every 2 weeks once a place becomes available, unless:

Your child is already at a pre-school or day nursery; in this case your child's needs will be best met there
Your child is due to start school nursery within 6 months; or
You and your family are not registered with the Home Office or have failed in your application to stay in the United Kingdom

How long will the visits last for?

You and your home visitor will review your situation every 3 to 6 months and decide whether to continue the visits. Their decision will depend on the following.

If your child continues to meet our eligibility conditions
If you feel your child is making progress and the visits are helpful
If you make sure you are at home when your home visitor arrives or, if you or your child cannot take part in the visit, you let us know by the morning of the planned visit

We can visit your child until they start going to nursery after their third birthday. We will stop the home visits when your child is of school age (the school year in which your child has their 4th birthday), unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If your child is at a pre-school or day nursery up to twice a week, we will usually visit you every 2 weeks or month. On some of these visits, we may visit your child's pre-school or nursery to help them settle in.