Portage PostISSUE NO 89 October 2014

NATIONAL PORTAGE ASSOCIATIONCONFERENCE

Conference took place on Friday 26th andSaturday 27th September at the Hilton Hotel

Northampton. Over 130 delegates attendedeach day and were treated to a fantastic 2 days of Seminars, workshops and talks,

exhibitions and the opportunity to meet and network. The children were looked after inthe crèche while parents and carers attended those presentations. Feedback

comments included: I think as a family we learnt and gained a lot from the Conference and indifferent ways. X loved the crèche as did Y (quite an achievement on the part of the crèche team

who we're dealing with quite diverse interests and needs). For my husband and I it was anemotional learning experience. Understanding more about X's potential limitations but more

importantly what he can strive to achieve and how we can help him do that. We haven't had toomuch opportunity to spend time as a family since X was born and the conference served to tick

that box too.

On the next pages are morepictures of the Conference!

Wrexham Portage -The girls from Wrexham Portage at Conference - a

Welsh Portage service from which the NPA’s newWelsh Representative will be chosen!

In the Crèche -

Seminars and Main Speaker - John Parry

In the Pool -

Members of the Board and Conference Team -

Raffle and 50/50 Stall

Celebrating Portage Awareness Week 2014

Families from across South Wiltshire cametogether to celebrate their children'sachievements with a Teddy Bears' picnic inthe beautiful setting of Salisbury CathedralClose.The weather was perfect and everyone hadgreat fun 'Popping for Portage' with a bubblemachine, musical instruments, teddy bears'parachutes and a healthy dose of sunshineunder the shade of ancient trees and agazebo.

Children were presented with certificates of achievement and Graduation Certificates forthose moving on to school.Staff at the Cathedral were very helpful and accommodating of our requests.A stunning and tasty teddy bear cake was made by a well-wisher and other visitors wereinterested to see what was going on, especially some toddlers who came to join us, andone lady who came over in the hope of a free ice-cream!The event was hailed a great success and we hope to repeat it again.

COMPETITION TIME!!

Send in your ideas for an exciting theme for next year’sPORTAGE AWARENESS WEEK!

Your idea needs to be simple but effective, eye catching and stimulating and above allFUN FUN FUN for everybody taking part!!

Send your ideas with your name and/or Portage Service and contact email orpostal address to Gary Walker - walkerg@blueyonder.co.uk

Your ideas will be looked at by members of the NPA Board of Trustees and adecision will be made and there

will be a small prize for the winning idea!!

During National Portage Awareness week in June 2014 NorthTyneside Portage service held our ‘Pop for Portage’ event at theFriday Music and Movement group. The children had fun withbubble related activities and at snack time we sold cakes whichhad been made by the Easy Peasi Wednesday Group. This raised£32We held a PPIG (Portage and Pre-school Interest Group)Regional Networking day in Sunderland on September 16th,which was attended by Tracy Stephenson. She explained to allthe services about her work on the ‘Hub’ and the new NPA‘’Stamp of Approval.We had also organised a raffle to bedrawn on the day and ticket salestotalled £58!

Altogether our efforts made £90 whichwas handed, with much pleasure, to Sue Goodhead at the

National Conference.

Here are somepictures of us all having fun making

cakes and playing with bubbles.

To members from Portage inLiverpool - the NPA’s newest

registered service!

11 delegates from Liverpoolattended Conference and they

were the Portage ProjectCoordinator, a parent, 3

disability link workers fromChildren’s Centres, 3 specialist advisory teachers and 3 Early Years

practitioners from PVI settings and they all had a great time andwere really enthused and excited about having learnt so much.

PORTAGE 4 DAY ACCREDITED BASIC WORKSHOPS

Dates: 23�� and 24�� February, 2ⁿ� and 3�� March 2015Venue: Jermyns House, Jermyns Lane, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 0QA

Time: 9am – 4pm

Ideal for:Practitioners, Preschool managers/SenCos and Parents/Carers working and living with childrenand young people with special additional needs and disability requirements (SEND) 0 – 5 years.

Course content:Introduction to PortageThe Portage Home VisitUsing Clear languagePlanning for Success/Holistic assessmentsSmall Steps to LearningPlanning, Recording and SharingPlay and GeneralisationUnderstanding and Responding to Children’s Behaviour

Tutors: Katey Butler (SAT), Caroline Feltham King (AT), Cheryl Young (AT), Bev Garland•(AT),Kate Sly(AT), Vicky Gilbertson (PHV)

Cost: £160 per professional participant (parents/carers £40),including 4 days training, course manual, refreshments,

NPA certificate on full and successful completion.Please be aware that this falls outside the HCC subscription we operate.

For further details and to book, please contact Paula Borthwick - Tel: 01329 286750or email paula.borthwick2@hants.gov.uk

Don’t forget to sign up for ‘easyfundraising’

It’s on-line shopping and works in a similar way to many other loyalty shopping sites, butinstead of earning points when you shop, you raise a donation for NPA instead. It’s as

simple as that. You can shop with over 2,000 well known stores and each will donate up to15% of what you spend.

Please register to support the NPA today -

Use this link to go to the NPA page on the website and you will find instructionsand information about how it works.

When you have shopped, the easyfunding system makes a note of your purchase, collectsthe donation from the retailer and passes it to NPA at no charge. It would be great if wecould continue this throughout the year so why not tell your family and friends to join in

too.

Further details and a listing of the 2000 shops can be found on easyfundraising.org.ukThe added bonus is that if you also tick the Gift Aid box and complete the relevant fields

this means that NPA can claim from HMRC.

For the second year running as part of Portage Awareness Week, Kent Portageheld 8 ‘Pop for Portage’ sessions throughout Kent where children were sponsoredby friends and family to blow, pop, and jump on bubbles.

One session was held at Westwood Cross shoppingcentre at Margate which attracted a number of childrenwho had the opportunity to join in bubble activities andwin pots of bubbles as well as raising public awareness

of the Portage service.

Lots of fun activities wereprovided for all the children who joined in enthusiasticallywith blowing and catching bubbles, looking at pop-upbooks, painting balloons and playing with foam as well asjumping and cycling to pop bubble wrap. Even washingup in bubbly water was turned into a fun event andeveryone enjoyed being involved in the big group bubblepopping session.

At the end of the sessions each child was presented witha certificate to say they had taken part.

Over 40 families attended and raised approximately£380 for the service, with 10% being donated tothe National Portage Association, which was afantastic effort by everyone involved. The moneywill be used to buy toys and equipment for KentPortage.

Thank you to everyone who supported these funevents!

Over the last 12 months, our fantastic Portage supporters have been using the JustGiving website to raise money on line for the NPA. We would like to thank them mostsincerely for their inventiveness, their energy, their thoughtfulness and in somecases their sheer bravery! All donations, however big or small are very gratefullyreceived.Using the NPA’s Just Giving page and charity registration number:

· Claire Wilson ran the Great Yorkshire Run on 29th Sept 2013 and raised£137. Her local Portage service benefited from the majority of the moneyraised, with NPA retaining the gift aid and making an administration charge.(For further details of this opportunity please contactsue@gdhead.freeserve.co.uk )

Raising money exclusively for NPA using Just Giving:Debbie Dignam set a post-Christmas challenge – Debbie’s Dry out January.James is not allowed to drink throughout January and raised £15

· Dawn Annett ran the 10k Superhero fun run on 18th May and raised £162· Daniel Griffin did a Tandem skydive on 6th June and raised £1,250· James Lorne ran the Manchester 10k on 13th July and raised £350· Kim Knight has an open NPA page from a previous sponsorship event for NPA

and has raised a further £10And now:

Daniel Thompson will be doing the Great Birmingham Run on 19th October.His target is £1k and so far he has raised £465 for the NPA. Tosupport Daniel please use the link https://www.justgiving.com/dansrunforportageKelly Pledger will overcome her fear of needles and Give Blood in February2015. So far she has raised £82. To support Kelly please use the linkhttp://www.justgiving.com/KL-PLEDGER

Many of Just Giving fundraisers asked their sponsors to Gift Aid their donation.As a result, over the last year a further £576.50 has been returned to NPAfrom HMRC.If you have a challenge that you want to achieve, please open a Just Givingpage to advertise it, to collect your on-line donations and to raise money forNPA.Sue Goodhead, NPA Volunteer

Kings Court, 17 School RoadHall Green, Birmingham B28 8JGTel: 0121 244 1807General Enquiries: info@portage.org.uk

Gary Walker65 Foden Road, Great BarrBirmingham, West Midlands B42 2ELMobile: 07584 068640Email: walkerg@blueyonder.co.uk

VACANT

Christine SilverMobile: 07970 376035Email: c.silver@talk.21.com

Janet RickmanBromley Portage ServicePhoenix Centre, 40 Masons HillBromley BR2 9JGTel: 020 8315 4752Email: janet.rickman@phoenixsch.org.ukMembership Enquiries:membership@portage.org.uk

VACANTEmail: npaaccreditation@yahoo.co.ukTraining: Training@portage.org.uk

Bonny Robinson50 Queens Walk, Lyme RegisDorset DT7 3BHTel: 01297 444694Conference Enquiries:conference@portage.org.uk

Helen CarrStoke-on-Trent PortageEarly Years Intervention ServiceThe Mount, Mount AvenuePenkull, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 7JUTel: 01782 235489/233798Email: Helen.carr@stoke.gov.uk

Shahenaz ShaikhEarly Years Specialist Learning SupportDirectorate for Children and YoungPeoplePsychology and Specialist OutreachWesttown CentreDewsburyWF13 2 RQEmail: shahenaz.shaikh@kirklees.gov.uk

Lynn ScorerNorth Tyneside Portage and Pre-schoolTeaching ServiceBeacon Hill SchoolRising Sun CottagesWALLSENDTyne and Wear NE28 9JWEmail: lynn.scorer@northtyneside.gov.uk

Sharon Ensor- Portage ManagerPortsmouth Portage ServiceFloor 2, Core 2Civic OfficesGuildhall SquarePortsmouth PO1 2EATel: 02392 834568Mobile: 07958 796580Email: sharon.ensor@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Kathleen ScobleEmail: finance@portage.org.uk

Christine BreeseEmail: office.manager@portage.org.uk

Debbie SharpEmail: administrator@portage.org.uk

Veronica Boys7 Westcote RoadStreathamLondon SW16 6BNTel: 0208 769 4724Email: vmb@rmtooting.co.uk

CHAIRPERSON OF PUBLICITYAND INFORMATIONJoanna ByersSpecialist Early Years Support ServiceHob Moor Children’s CentreGreen LaneAcombYork YO24 4PSTel: 01904 555085Email: jo.byers@york.gov.uk

NPA CONSULTANTMollie White4 Clifton RoadWinchesterHants SO22 5BNTel: 01962 840416Email: molliewhite@tiscali.co.uk

Karen Conroy and Lynda WalmsleyKaren – Tel: 01582 548111Email: Karen.conroy@luton.gov.ukLynda – Tel: 01582 548142Email: Lynda.walmsley@luton.gov.uk

Tracy HarveyDolphin Centre for Children7-15 St Johns RoadTunbridge WellsKent TN4 9TFTel: 01892 501897Email: tracy.harvey@kent.gov.uk

NPA BOARD OF TRUSTEES

VACANT

Zoe Costello: zoe.costello@outlook.com

David Strawson29 Church Road, Biggin HillKent TN16 3LBMobile: 07834 494969Email: DavidJStrawson@gmail.com

Buckinghamshire Portage Service Trip to Thomley Activity Centre

In June the Buckinghamshire Portage Service arranged a trip for families who receivePortage home visits to Thomley Activity Centre in Worminghall, Bucks. Thomley ActivityCentre is a recreational facility for disabled children, their families, friends, schools andgroups.The trip was kindly paid for by the “Friends of Bucks Portage”.The children came along with their parents/carers to enjoy the day with the PortageTeam. The weather was beautiful so everyone was able to enjoy the huge outdoor spacewith its own fort, outdoor musical instruments, zip wire and various ride on and pushalong toys. Families also made use of the music room and soft play area.

We had hired the sensory room for 2 separate hourly slots during the day and there wasa “messy play” activity with the theme of mini-beasts to explore.

Feedback from parents about the day include:

“It was a fantastic day and we thoroughly enjoyed it”“He loved being outdoors – he enjoyed the Little Tikes cars in the playground andplaying in the fort the most”“He was very smiley and happy all day”“We enjoyed getting together with similar people and experiencing a new place to play”“She enjoyed the sensory room the most”

The pictures show some of our children enjoying the soft play area and the sensoryroom. It was a brilliant day and a lot of parents have said they will be returning to visitThomley Activity Centre as a family.

Amanda Hill, Portage Administrator, Buckinghamshire Portage Service, Buckinghamshire CountyCouncil, Wycombe Area Office, Easton Street, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP11 1NH. Tel: 01494 475199

email: portage@buckscc.gov.uk

From the Editor -

As you can see from the first few pages - a great time was had by all at Conference - the seminars and mainspeakers gave really good presentations and were really enjoyed! Great to see 11 delegates from our newestservice - Portage in Liverpool and also delegates from Wrexham (more in Gary’s report Pages 16-20). I haveincluded much of Gary Walker’s Chair’s report in this edition as I feel it’s important to read about what has beenand what is going to happening within the NPA. This Association is OUR Association and members of the Boardare working with their day jobs and then giving their time to do NPA work. As members, I feel it is important tosupport this work as much as we can -Do you have some time to give for support? There are a number of vacancies on the Board and to paraphrase awell known saying - ‘Think not what the NPA can do for you - Think of what YOU can do for the NPA.’

Chris Walker

I Love You Natty

Almost eight years ago, when Hayley Goleniowska’s seconddaughter was born with Down’s syndrome, she sought a book toread at bedtime with her eldest that would explain to Mia whyher baby sister had to spend time in the Neonatal IntensiveCare Unit. She wanted a visually appealing way of explainingwhy the adults in the family were worried, but mostimportantly she craved a vehicle to show the support littleNatty would need and what a family like theirs would become.

The most important point to get across was that we all needhelp from time to time, and that life for the two sisters would be much like life for all othersiblings. With a few adjustments to the way they approached life, they too would be able toread together, play together, travel, enjoy hobbies and school, even get on each other’s nerves!

When Mia was about 7 years old, Hayley discovered the first of several little notes she hadwritten to Natty along with drawings. She immediately realised that these messages were tobecome the basis for the book they had wanted to create for so many years.

“I love you Natty, you are so very precious to me and without you my life wouldn’tbe the same.”

Mum Hayley asked Mia questions on how she would describe Down’s syndrome and how she feltwhen Natty had her heart surgery. The answers, along with Mia’s sketches and familyphotographs complete this heart-warming introduction to the condition through a child’s eyes.

Since its launch, the book has received a wonderful response from all corners of the globe andhas been endorsed by 8 major charities, including the Down’s Syndrome Association, Scope,Makaton and the National Portage Association. It has not only been purchased by parentswishing to support elder siblings, but also by teachers wanting to discuss inclusion in schools,by lecturers for trainee medical and social care professionals, and by those working withfamilies with a recent diagnosis.

The book is available fromWaterstones, can be purchased at any Sainsbury’s in Cornwall or via Amazon UK.ISBN 978-09929251-0-9, £5.99 + P&P

Hayley writes the internationallyrenowned award-winning blogDowns Side Up and tweets@DownsSideUp. She is a speakerand freelance writer.

Natty was recently the first childwith a learning disability to feature in a major supermarket Back to School campaign.

NPA / DfE Project News

Portage Support HubWe are pleased to announce the launch of the new Portage SupportHub. Check it out at www.hub.portage.org.uk

The Hub was promoted at the NPA Conference & feedback fromPortage services has been very positive.

The Hub offers a ‘one-stop shop’ for all things Portage & providesopportunities for Portage Home Visitors, early years practitioners andparents to share information, knowledge and good practice.

With your help the Hub will continue to evolve and grow over time, as practitioners and parents add toit by sharing case studies, useful links and resources, examples of good practice and participating indiscussion groups.

Whilst some sections of the Hub will be available to everyone, much of the content will only beaccessible to NPA members. We hope that the Hub will be a major benefit of NPA membership.

The project team are currently making some minor tweaks & continue to add content. Once all this iscompleted, NPA members will be sent log-in details & a direct link to the Portage Support Hub will beadded to the main NPA website.

Case Studies for the HubCAN YOU WRITE A CASE STUDY FOR THE NEW PORTAGESUPPORT HUB? …We would love to hear from Portage Home Visitors, Portagetrained practitioners and Portage Parents.ENTER TO WIN £100 for your service or FREE NPA Membershipfor a Portage Trained Practitioner.For more information please see the Case Study Flyerattachment.

NPA Stamp of ApprovalThe NPA Stamp of Approval Scheme is an award given to early year’ssettings who have demonstrated they deliver inclusive early yearseducation based upon Portage Principles.

All Portage services have now been sent information about the NPAStamp of Approval, including detailed Guidance Notes, criteria &application form. . Please support us by promoting in your area!Portage Support Hub at www.hub.portage.org.uk

We look forward to celebrating our first setting application very soon!

FacebookThe project team have recently created a new NPA Facebook page.We will soon be adding regular posts about project work and NPAnews and look forward to making lots of new friends.

Join our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/PortageUK

Recent Project Training in New AreasThe project team continue to develop & supportPortage in new areas – recently deliveringworkshops in Bath & NE Somerset.

There is much activity in the North West of thecountry: with a new Portage service in Liverpool& plans for small Portage services in bothWarrington & Cheshire West. There is now a highdemand for Portage training in these areas,which are benefiting from the support &mentorship of St Helen’s & Wirral Portageservices.

Goodbye & Thank You to Helen TaylorWe are sorry to say goodbye to Helen Taylor and want to say ahuge thank you from the Project team – she will be greatly missed.

Helen has been the Training Consultant for the DfE project teamsince September 2013, creating a range of high quality trainingmaterials.

She produced a new Portage Awareness Workshop which hasbeen invaluable in promoting Portage to new areas. Helen alsowrote much of the material to support the new NPA Stamp ofApproval, developed the PBW Follow Up Day & helped to appoint

our bank of brilliant NPA Parent Trainers.

Helen continues to work as a Portage Home Visitor with the Northumberland Portage Service &delivers training for the charity ‘The Education Centre for Children with Down Syndrome’. Helen isalso an ex-Portage parent; mum to Amelie (7) & Finley (5) who has Down Syndrome.

We wish Helen and her family all the best for the future.

We look forward to hearing from you.Tracy and Kerry (The Project Team)

Contact details:tracy.stephenson@portage.org.uk (Regional Consultant North & Midlands)kerry.bailey@portage.org.uk (Regional Consultant South)

Kent PortageWe have recently said goodbye to Pam Jones andChristine Stevens who retired in the spring, bothextremely valued members of staff. Their dedicationand enthusiasm for Portage has benefited manychildren across Kent.Pam had been with the service for 23 years andChristine for 10. Portage played an important part intheir working lives and the support to the servicethrough their knowledge and experience will begreatly missed.Staff joined them to share memories of working withinthe Portage Service and to wish them well in the nextphase of their lives.Pam cooked her team a fantastic lunch at TheDolphin Centre in Tunbridge Wells.At Christine’s farewell afternoon tea the teamenjoyed listening to the following poem which waswritten and read by Johanna Rohan.(Reproduced inthe next column.)

Plymouth PortageSandra Matanle will be retiring on the 27th November2014 after 16 years as a valued member of thePlymouth Portage Service. Sandra will be missed bythe team and the Portage families. During her timewithin Portage she has seen many changes within theservice and has shown commitment to many childrenand their families.Sandra has also been a faithful member of the Friendsof Plymouth Portage Charity committee; supportingevents such as the Charity Balls, Parent social events,Family days out, The Christmas Party and much more.We will miss Sandra however and wish her all the bestin her retirement and look forward to hearing about allher adventures ahead.With love from the Plymouth Portage Service.

LincolnshireLincolnshire County Portage Service say goodbye toLyn Joyner Stebbingsafter 20 dedicatedyears. Lyn initiallydelivered Portagewhen she wasteaching in specialeducation in thecounty. For the last 12years she hascoordinated theLincoln Portage teamand also delivered many Portage Basic workshops asan accredited trainer and the NAS EarlyBirdprogramme to which she has elected to continue todo into her retirement.Lyn is looking forward to spending time with herhusband Tim and they are planning to travel. She isalso a keen horse lover and is looking to volunteeringat Bransby rest home for horses. So no rest for Lyn!

RETIREMENT POEM

Bubbles to blowBubbles to popDoes he understand the sign for stop?Ride on trikes,Balls to roll,Does he hug or carry an oversized doll?

Cause and effect toys,Lights that flash,Paper that crinkles,And cars that crash,Books that have a ‘Lift the Flap’Can heWith a stoolTurn on a tap?

Or know what a brush or a cup is for?Can he say-or sign for more?Posting boxes,Rings on a peg,Can he match yellow, blue or red?

Does he walk upstairs with aid?Can he turn pages one at a time?Can he repeat the words of a familiar song?Or actions? Can he mime?

Can he march to music?Or make shapes with dough and namethem?Or add facial features to a pre-drawn circle?Or an arm to an incomplete person?

When lying on his back is he symmetrical?At least 60% of the time?Can he?In imitationDraw a vertical line?

Can he answer ‘who?’ questions with anameHas he 20 single words?Or two word strings? ‘drink tea’ cook dinner’Can he combine his verbs?

Oh the Portage Assessment checklistWhat fun you have had togetherSo, Christine, when you are bored or feelingUnder the weather,Check out some of your own emerging skillsI’m sure that you will findYou’ve reached the appropriate ageSo you can safely leave Portage behind!

Enjoy your retirementThat’s all we have left to say,And I’m sure that you will never forgetAll of those children that you have helpedOn their way.

SURPRISE!!

Pauline Harris retired in June of this year and herKIDS colleagues held a Surprise Lunch forher to which both current and past colleagueswere invited.Before she could have her lunch, Pauline wasblindfolded and had to feel and then identifyvarious items - including a rubber ratin some jelly!

Free powered mobility for children under 5

Wizzybug is the fun and innovative powered wheelchair which isdesigned specifically for children under five. It provides a fun first

experience of mobility for children with conditions such as cerebralpalsy, spinal muscular atrophy, spina bifida and muscular dystrophy.

Even those as young as 18 months can operate Wizzybug's simple controls, allowingthem to zip around with their peers, developing spatial awareness, socialinteraction and independence. It can be used indoors and out of doors in accessibleareas such as level gardens, playgrounds and parks.

As there is often no NHS funding for powered mobility for childrenunder five, our charitable loan scheme provides Wizzybugs free tochildren who can benefit from them. * Families receive a Wizzybug for as long as needed. * On return, we refurbish it and loan it to another family. * Each Wizzybug helps at least three children.

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we've been able to help141 families so far and if you would like to apply to the schemeplease contact our Occupational Therapist, Nina Ewans,on 01225 824103.

From the Editor (again!!)

We are hoping that we can continue to produce an interesting issue of the Portage Postnearly every 2 months and so I have written below the expected dates of the next 6issues. It would be fantastic to have some little snippets of information, tips on toys orways of practising skills from you, just email anything directly to me onasnail@ntlworld.com and I look forward to hearing from you!

Chris

Dates for the next issues in 2014/2015 are as follows -Portage Post 90 - issued by 8th December - Copy needed by 21st NovemberPortage Post 91 - issued by 16th February - Copy needed by 2nd FebruaryPortage Post 92 - issued by 11th May - Copy needed by 27th AprilPortage Post 93 - issued by 13th July - Copy needed by 29th JunePortage Post 94 - issued by 19th October - Copy needed by 5th October

Portage Post 95 - issued by 7th December - Copy needed by 23rd November

From the Chair - Gary WalkerThe following pages are taken from Gary’s report at the NPA Annual General Meeting.

This will be my last year in the role of Chair, I will be stepping down at next year’s AGM. I believe it is important for theAssociation that there is a smooth transition to the new chair and because Dave Strawson is not able to take on the roleof Chair he will be stepping down as Vice Chair to become a Parent Representative. This leaves the Vice Chair positionopen for someone who would consider moving into the vacant Chair position next year.Two of our long serving trustees have stepped down this year, Audrey Cooper and Pauline Harris who have been greatsupporters of the Association and I would like to thank them for their commitment to the NPA over many years.

As a result the following positions on the Board are now vacant:· Vice Chair· Training Chair: with specific responsibility for course content and development, Co-chair of Training & Quality

Committee· Quality Assurance and Monitoring Chair: incorporating Ethics, Equal Opportunities and auditing of course work

completed by course participants including the new B-Tec qualifications, co-chair of training and quality committee· And Early Years Policy Advisor: this role entails reviewing and make recommendations to the board regarding

forthcoming legislation and changes in Early Years policy.· In addition we are also seeking 2 Parent Representatives to work alongside Dave Strawson.

So - if you know of any parents that would be interested in becoming a parent representative they would be verywelcome to observe a Board meeting if that would help them to make up their minds.

I would like to reiterate that this is your Association and we are always looking for members to join the Board - I wouldurge anyone who is interested in becoming a member of the Board or has time to support the Board with one of themany initiatives that are undertaken every year to get in contact with me at any time.

In April 2013 the NPA was awarded a commercial contract with the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL)- ‘To sustain and develop the Portage workforce across England’.The objectives of the contract are as follows:

a. That an increased number and a wider range of early years practitioners are able to access Portage training.b. That the early years workforce will have a greater level of understanding and skill with which to support

children with special educational needs and their families.c. That an increased number of families with a child with special educational needs are supported by practitioners

who have been trained in the principles of Portage.d. To encourage the development of Portage services in all local authority areas, by targeting Portage awareness

sessions in those areas where there is currently no provision.e. To provide a profile of the Portage workforce in England.f. And to ensure that Portage training and support for the workforce is sustainable beyond the life of the contract.

The first year has been a great success and feedback from the NCTL regarding our performance has been very positive.The Highlights for the first year include

▪ 112 EY practitioners have completed a 3 day PBW course▪ 80% of those practitioners are now using Portage Principles in their day to day activity with children▪ The development of a Portage Awareness Workshop that can be used to introduce Portage to Local Authorities

Key Stakeholders▪ Portage registered services have increased by 30% to 112.▪ A Training for Trainers course was held in March this year▪ And we have developed an online Hub to provide information and support to Portage members and EY

practitioners.The contract has allowed the association to broaden awareness of Portage in Local Authorities that do not offerPortage; into Early Years Settings and through attending exhibitions and developing connections through social media.

A relatively small income is generated from the contract to support our administrative costs, the largest proportion helpsto cover the expenditure of the training events, the salaries of consultants and the completion of the initiatives set out inthe contract.The newly appointed consultants and the project steering team have worked extremely hard in the first year to achievethe contract’s objectives. I would like to thank all those involved for their tireless effort and dedication.

It is without doubt the success of past projects with the DfE that led to the invitation from the NCTL to tender for thiscontract and I strongly believe that our links to the DfE, as a result of those projects, has increased awareness of Portageat a national level.

The NPA has been aware for some time that recently introduced legislation could impact upon Portage provision, andthat the Association would need to get a clearer picture in order to offer support and advice to services and members.So - in September 2013, the Association sent out a survey to 104 registered services. The purpose of the survey was todetermine the effect of the new local offer and free entitlement for 2 year olds on services, the survey asked the followingquestions:

1. Is Portage included in your authorities ‘local offer’?2. Has the 'free entitlement' for some 2 year olds which started last September affected the availability of Portage

to families?3. Whether the proposed extension of the ‘free entitlement’ to include 2 year olds with disabilities this year is

causing local authorities to consider changes in Portage service delivery for this group of children.

70 services responded to the request for information from which results were compiled and some of the highlights fromthe responses include -● 77% or 54 services were included in their new local offer● 100% of the services that responded (67) work with children aged between 1 and 3 years old● Less than half of the services work with 4 -5 year olds● 60% of services had experienced no change due to the local offer or 2 year funding – however the survey was 12

months ago and I am sure some authorities have been through restructuring in the mean time.

So what were we able to conclude about Portage provision based on the responses received?* Portage, like many other local authority services, is experiencing changes. These changes are due to a

variety of factors including; austerity measures; the universal availability of free nursery education for 3 and 4 yearolds; the forthcoming arrival of the free early education entitlement for two year olds with disabilities, and thepublication of the ‘local offer’.

* There is a definite trend occurring, whereby local authorities are considering how best to organiseeducational provision for very young children with disabilities and their families, in line with new nationaldevelopments and funding streams.

* There is a small but growing trend toward Portage services becoming part of a larger service, offeringsupport to children with disabilities and their families. Sometimes this has the effect of ‘Portage’ being droppedfrom the title of the service, even when it continues to be available to the families.

Based on these conclusions what can the NPA and services do to ensure that Portage remains a key provider within thechanging landscape of early years provision?

■ It is important to remember that the NPA received a letter from the DfE on 12 October 2012 in response to anearlier letter sent to David Cameron. The letter highlighted the fact that the intention is for specialist serviceslike Portage to be available alongside the ‘free entitlement’ for two year olds.Therefore ‘free entitlement’ and Portage home visiting should be seen as complimenting each other, ratherthan being in competitionIt is vitally important that decision makers within local authorities are very clear on this point and the NPA havewritten to Directors of Children's Services to stress this.Where Portage is not included in the local offer the local Portage service should also be bringing this to theattention of the person in their local authority who carries responsibility for compiling and producing the ‘localoffer’.

■ This is not the time for local authorities that employ Portage services to be considering cutting, replacing, orreducing them. It is entirely the opposite. This is the time for Portage services and practitioners to promoteand use their nationally recognised expertise to work alongside new providers of the ‘free entitlement’ for twoyear olds.The NPA has received interest from a number of providers in the Early Years sector that do not have the expertisewithin their own organisations to implement the changes needed to meet the requirements of the newlegislation. They have asked for our assistance with training and training materials.

■ Obviously the ongoing changes that Portage services are experiencing will be unsettling. But services are adaptingand extending their traditional role of working solely in the family home. This is to good effect and thebroadening of the role is likely to be mutually beneficial to children, parents, early years settings and Portageservices.

■ The Hub will make it possible for services to gather and share ways in which they are using their expertise andbroadening their practice to facilitate the use of the Portage principles across the wider early years workforce.

▪ The inclusion of the word ‘Portage’ in the name of the service is important. It underlines the Portage principlesand it preserves the quality assured Portage model of home visiting.

In the growing number of services where Portage is offered within a larger team, it is recommended that thepublicity and literature should contain specific reference to Portage.

■ The success of the NPA’s bid for a government contract to develop and sustain the Portage workforce acrossEngland is clear evidence that Portage is held in very high regard nationally.The aim of the NCTL contract is to provide support and training to enable Portage to develop in areas whereit is currently unavailable.This confirms the view that the government wishes to see Portage develop and grow, so that it is available asan option across the UK.

■ Despite all of these changes I want to stress that the NPA believes that it is vitally important to retain the classicPortage home visiting model for families of young children with disabilities wherever possible.The significance of Portage being delivered in the family home, supporting parents and carers of young disabledchildren remains crucial. It is the high regard in which parents hold Portage home visiting that gives Portageits credibility and status.It has been proven with the establishment of new services that despite all of the changes within local authoritiesthe classic Portage model still has a very important role to play.

■ And finally it goes without saying that the NPA will continue to lobby for the inclusion of Portage within allcurrent and future EY legislation.

We need to embrace the changes that are occurring in local authorities and ensure that Portage is availablethroughout the country – the achievements of the project and the way that services are adapting to the new legislationproves that Portage has an indispensable part to play in early years provision.I would like to thank Sue Goodhead for circulating the survey, collating the responses and preparing the final report.

Training remains an integral part of the NPA’s activities. In the past 12 months the training team headed by AudreyCooper have been involved in many important initiatives.

The Portage Basic Workshop has been offered across the country to a range of early years practitioners and servicesand continues to hold the accolade of being one of the best training courses on offer. The offer of training is availablethrough the NCTL contract for areas where there are no Portage services and this has led to the setting up of newservices in some of those areas.The Portage Basic Workshop was in need of a review and update and a survey was sent out to Accredited Trainersand those working towards becoming an Accredited Trainer. The response received was excellent and from thatfeedback a proposal regarding changes was agreed by the Board in June this year.These proposals include -● The renaming of the training to - Portage Workshop – A Small Steps Approach to Learning for Children with SEND● Changes to parts of the course have been requested in view of current practise along with the need for additions

regarding the revised Code of Practice, Person Centred approach and EYFS.● The timings and number of days offered are to be looked at with the option of presentations being delivered

across one or two days in areas that find it difficult to deliver across three or four days.

What is delivered on the shortened courses will be identified as part of the training and will be recorded as a shortenedcourse on Certificates. It is also intended that in all cases an additional follow up session should be held within threemonths of delivery to include follow up, case studies and trainees’ questions.

The new criterion for accreditation was launched last September, thanks go to those trainers who are using all thenew paperwork, registering their workshops and completing their summary of evaluations. This year 15 new trainershave been appointed and we offer congratulations on their accreditation.

This year we will be introducing an agreement for all Accredited Trainers to ensure they are aware of theirresponsibilities in the role and in regard to the materials which they are given to use by the NPA. This will reducethe time that the Chair of Training spends following up training renewals and other miscellaneous activity whilstensuring that the NPA has ownership of materials etc used on its training courses.

Training For Trainers was run in March 2014 and was in receipt of very positive evaluations. Due to financialrestrictions TFT will be delivered once every two years for the foreseeable future or until such time that a fundingstream for the training can be identified. I would like to thank Queenie McNally who coordinates and organises thetraining. Her superb organisational skills along with the support and enthusiasm of rest of the training team enableus to continue to achieve very positive outcomes and maintain trainer numbers and quality across the country.

Three courses for the Portage Curriculum for Portage Development are now on offer for services to buy in from theNPA and costings for these can be obtained from the office.

The courses are:● ‘Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities’,

● ‘Understanding and Responding to Children’s Challenging Behaviour’ and● ‘Autism Spectrum Disorders’

We intend to add further course content and are looking to change the way in which these courses are delivered in thefuture and we would appreciate your ideas.

The BTEC external Verifier visited us in June and found the quality of work that was being assessed to be of a good tohigh standard. There were however some aspects that need to be addressed, these include a student hand book anda clear policy, laying out the assessment and verification process. These changes and additions are currently in handand information will be going out to students and trainers in the near future.We are also currently looking into the feasibility of employing a part time coordinator for the BTEC Level 3 and Level 4.

A review and update of the contents of the Code of Practice is currently taking place and will be available in 2015.

I would like to thank Audrey Cooper and the training committee for all of their hard work. We are now looking for anew Chair of Training as Audrey has stepped down from this role.

During the January Board Meeting a number of initiatives were agreed to take forward this year, they included:

· The intention of the NPA to develop and take ownership of standardised literature that can used by servicesthroughout the country for example Tracking and Assessment Documents.

· That Portage Post becomes a Bi-monthly e-newsletter – with more informative content, training information,conference updates, and the incorporation of news from services newsletters.(Can I make the annual plea for articles and stories to be sent to Chris Walker? – Your contribution is essentialto making Portage Post as informative as possible.)

· The NPA now has over 500 members - however there is clearly a need to continue to increase the membershipnumbers in order for the NPA to remain sustainable. Existing members are asked to encourage colleagues andfamilies to consider joining the NPA by promoting the many benefits of membership including having access toPortage materials and quality training, affiliation to a professional body and supporting the national voice ofPortage.

· A Membership Survey will be circulated to assist us in understanding why people choose to become/not becomemembers, providing us with information that will help us to develop strategies to increase membership

· In the meantime in order to increase revenue from membership a new Tiered Membership Structure has beenratified by the board to encourage membership from professionals, families and associated organisations.

In the future there will be four types of membership available -1. ‘Friends of Portage’ will be available to Parents and family members along with ex-service members.

The Membership charge for this group will be £15-00.2. Professional Membership for EY Professionals - This would include Portage Practitioners and other Early

Years Practitioners working within Portage Registered Services. The Membership charge for this groupremains at £35-00.

3. Freelance Accredited Trainers – Those that are no longer working within a service but do provide trainingprivately. By registering they can use the NPA materials and be listed on the NPA website. Membershipwill be charged at £130-00.

4. And finally Affiliated Member - This membership will be available to other charities and partners of theNPA. These organisations will be charged £50-00.

In all cases Direct Debit will be the preferred method of payment and all Memberships will be renewed on an annualbasis with renewal in October.

The long term sustainability of the Association remains the priority of the Board. Despite efforts to raise funds througha number of initiatives, the financial situation remains insecure. The increased number of members and services is agreat success; however this revenue alone is not enough to safeguard the Association’s future. Developing incomestreams from the public and private sector has been a long term objective, however this remains challenging. The Boardhas developed a number of fundraising initiatives that we need our members and services to support in order to raisemuch needed funds for the Association.

Visit the NPA Website: http://www.portage.org.uk

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Articles, notices and advertisements for inclusion in Portage Posts should be sent byemail directly to the Editor (Email - asnail@ntlworld.com) or to the NPA Office.

From the NPA Board of Trustees

Every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the content, but noresponsibility can be taken for any error or omission. The opinions of the contributors donot necessarily reflect the views or policies of the charity, nor does the inclusion of anitem, insert or advertisement constitute a recommendation.

The National Portage Association is limited by guarantee No 4165317, registered England & Wales.Registered Charity No. 1087865. Registered Offices: King’s Court, 17 School Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, B28 8JG

Published by: The National Portage Association (NPA)King’s Court, 17 School Road, Hall Green, Birmingham B28 8JG

Tel: 0121 2441807 Email: info@portage.org.uk Website. http://www.portage.org.uk

Our fundraising campaign - “Raise 100k and support the NPA” – hasn’t reached the heights we had hoped, howeverif members and parents raise money for their local service using the NPA Charity Number and sign up for GIFT AIDthen the NPA can claim the Gift Aid money to support the Association.By raising £100,000 to support local services, the Association receives £20,000 in Gift Aid and this would go a longway to meeting the Association’s annual core costs.I am asking all our members to support the initiative, use your imagination to come up with great fundraising ideasand don’t forget to send your stories to Portage Post.I would like to thank all those trustees, members and families that have held sponsored events around the country fortheir support and would urge all members and services to consider organising a fundraising activity in the coming year.

We want all of our services to embrace Portage Awareness Week - To help raise awareness of how services supportchildren and families in their local community – Please let us know what you think the theme should be for nextyear’s Awareness Week. (See advert on Page 4)

Don’t forget that ‘easyfundraising’ is a simple online way to raise money whilst purchasing all sorts of products –donations so far have been low but it is really simple to set up and the money is donated by leading retail brandsAlso - don’t forget that Services can now advertise jobs and training days on our website for a small monthly charge.I would like to thank the fundraisers who have held raffles at recent networking events for their support. (See Page 6)

And last but by no means least Joanna Byers from the Board has supported the NPA’s hard working volunteer fundraiser,Sue Goodhead, to organise a competition to design a new NPA Christmas card.

And now to the last piece of business for the AGM - I am delighted to propose the following special resolution to ourmembers - “The development of Portage in Wales with increased numbers of members and services joining the NPAhas culminated in a proposal to establish a Welsh Regional Representative. With a Welsh Regional Representative inpost it is anticipated that awareness of Portage will further increase and greater focus can be given to increasingmembership and developing a network of support across the country.”

Thank you for your support with this proposal. Wrexham service has stepped forward to take on the post of RegionalRepresentative and one of their members will be co-opted at the November Board Meeting

I would like to bring this AGM to a close by offering a personal thank you to the Board, Staff, Consultants andmembers for their ongoing support. Gary Walker