Introduction
Portage workers provide a home teaching service for pre-school
children with special educational needs, which may include physical
or learning difficulties. They also provide help and support for
the children's parents and can help them learn how to teach their
children skills through a carefully structured and flexible
programme.
Work Environment
Portage workers have an office base, but spend a good deal of time
visiting families in their homes. They may also work part of the
time in nurseries and schools.
Daily Activities
Portage workers help assess children with special needs in areas
such as:
- infant development;
- social skills;
- cognitive (thinking) skills;
- self-help skills;
- motor skills;
- language development.
Duties include:
- working with parents to prepare a programme of activities for
the parent and child to practice;
- visiting families weekly to check progress and agree new goals
and activities;
- writing regular progress reports on their clients and
developing long-term teaching goals for the child, in consultation
with the parents;
- ensuring programmes are tailored to each individual child so
that they can learn effectively;
- working closely with other professionals, such as speech
therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, health visitors and
social workers.
Skills & Interests
Portage workers need to be:
- excellent communicators;
- able to work with a wide range of people, including children,
parents and other professionals;
- sensitive and tactful;
- good at giving advice;
- good report writers;
- interested in child and family development.
Entry Requirements
Portage workers usually require a professional qualification in
nursing, social work or education, such as NNEB, CACHE, teaching
qualifications or a degree in social work. Alternatively, you may
be required to have level 3 N/SVQs in Early Years Care and
Education.
Training opportunities in portage are available for workers who
are not already qualified in the basic portage workshop through the
National Portage Association (NPA). These workshops usually last
three or four days. More advanced modules in play and home visit,
emotional support and working with multiple learning difficulties,
for example, can also be taken through the NPA. As portage
workers make numerous home visits, they usually need to have a
clean driving licence and sometimes use of a car.
Future Prospects & Opportunities
It may be possible to progress to manager or supervisor of a
portage service. Other possible career developments for portage
workers include specialising in one or other of their skills and
moving into nursery nursing or speech therapy, for example. You may
also be able to move into other professional areas working with
children such as social work or teaching.
Further Information & Services
Community Service Volunteers www.csv.org.uk
Education jobs www.eteach.com
National Portage Association www.portage.org.uk
You may find further information about this area of work through
Careers Wales (www.careerswales.com/) or
in your local library, careers office or school careers
library.