Home Development Advisor

What is home based support?

The Home Support service supports the child's development and is based on the Portage Model. It is a friendly and supportive service for families with young children (from birth to under 5) who have additional needs. It is designed to help children learn and grow through play, communication, and everyday routines.

This service is usually delivered at home, if there is enough space to work safely, comfortably and without distractions. If we are unable to work in the home, we will arrange sessions at a children's centre instead.

A SEND Support Advisor will visit regularly to work with you and your child. Together, we will set goals that matter to your family and build on your child’s strengths and existing and emerging skills through Early Play activities. The sessions are child-led, meaning your child’s interests guide the activities, and you will be supported every step of the way.

Our aim is to support and guide parents so that everyone living in the home feels confident in continuing the activities/ strategies between visits, helping your child make developmental progress through everyday play and routines.

If your child is attending a childcare provider, home support is not available. Instead, support will be provided by our Area SENDCo team through the nursery whilst your child is in their setting. 

Parents and carers will still have access to the Advisory Teacher support line and parent training sessions to help you continue supporting your child’s development.

What do the home-based support team do?

• Home visits to explore your child’s needs, explain available services, and agree on a support plan together.
• Information, advice, guidance, and empowering parent carers on the best ways to support their child’s development.
• Signposting to Parent training to help you build confidence, skills, and knowledge to communicate effectively with your child.
• Support between visits to help you continue activities at home and track your child’s progress.
• Small step teaching tasks designed to support your child’s learning during fortnightly visits.
• Help with recording achievements to see your child’s progress and build confidence.
• Ongoing assessment of your child’s needs, with targets set together to measure progress.
• Joint planning and modelling of learning activities to help you understand and support your child’s individual needs.
• Support with transitions into early years settings, including help with visiting and choosing the right place.
• Help communicate your child’s needs to professionals and address any concerns.
• Liaising with other services and agencies to make sure your child can access the right support.
• Coordination of services and multi-agency meetings for children with complex needs to ensure everyone involved is working together.
• Invite to SEND Early Years Special Events if appropriate, such as Park Walks and Stay and Play.

For more information, please refer to our leaflet available in the downloads section on this page. It contains helpful details about the services and support we offer.