Portage Home Visitor

Portsmouth is a great waterfront city and a vibrant place to live and work. It is an island city with an "inner city" feel, a seaside location packed with attractions and events, and the advantage of fantastic countryside on its doorstep. With fast road and rail links to London, Brighton and major airports, and ferry links to Europe, it is the perfect place to live and work. Portsmouth has a strong history of partnership working and has successfully integrated several local services. The Service: The Portage team aims to support the development and learning of pre-school children (ages 0-4) with developmental delay or SEND (special educational needs or disability). The team deliver Portage and Portage Plus (Portage Plus focuses on social communication difficulties) programmes at home and in early years settings, working closely with parents, carers and early years staff as well as directly with children. Your New Role: You will deliver a specialist, individually tailored package of assessment, monitoring and early intervention using the Portage model for pre-school children 0-4 years with SEND and their families. You will manage a caseload of children and their families, and carry out a developmental assessment of the child. You will provide resources, materials and equipment to deliver individualised educational activities to stimulate and develop skills. You will also maintain electronic records, contribute to regular multi-agency meetings, support parents at their early stages of an emotional journey, and act as advocate in presenting their view of their child's needs. Please read the job profile for the full details of this role. What does our team say? "The regular contact with parents and children means you get to build a good rapport with families. Great training opportunities and you get to put the skills into practice straight away with families. A great job if you like to continuously learn and grow as there is always something else to try/explore." "Portage is a great supportive team to work in, with a wide range of experience and knowledge between us. Working closely with families weekly and creating individual programmes to meet specific needs allows us to see progress and allows for great job satisfaction."

You have a Level 3 diploma (or higher) for Early Years Educator/Practitioner or other relevant qualification with an underpinning knowledge of child development (0-5 years). You have experience of working directly with, and implementing strategies and interventions for, pre-school age children 0-4 years who have SEND or neurodiversity. Applications from those with experience working in specialist provisions, early years practitioner, teacher, SENCo, therapist or therapy assistant (SALT, OT, Physio) are encouraged. You need to have experience or awareness of working in partnership with families and early years settings, and evidence of completion of the Portage Workshop or willingness to undertake this training. You use your professional skills, knowledge, and experience of child development to assess, set targets, and review and promote development. You work collaboratively, in partnership with parents/carers and others, and understand the diversity of children's needs. You must have a driving licence and access to a car, or be able to access public transport or other means to reach locations across the whole city for home and nursery visits, transporting or carrying resources. You also need basic IT skills including Microsoft Word. You can work in potentially difficult physical situations, and carry bags with heavy or awkward resources.

Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. It is also committed to promoting quality childcare across the city that works to improve outcomes for children. DBS Disclosure at Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children's Board safer recruitment procedures.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it. What you'll get in return: We really appreciate our employees and fully realise they are essential to our success and look to offer an inclusive, supportive working environment where employees can reach their potentials with a healthy work life balance, offering the following rewards:

• A fantastic pension which allows you the opportunity to pay in more for that greater return.
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Extensive wellbeing support through the Employee Assistance Programme
• Discount on travel, travel loans and the bike loan scheme
• Discounts on a wide range of goods and services - access a range of discounts and offers from thousands of restaurants, shops and more.