Portage Home Visitor - Patchway in Bristol

As a Portage Home Visitor, you will work closely with parents and their children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), providing one-to-one support within the family's home. You will help build parents' confidence and empower them with the knowledge, skills and strategies needed to understand and meet their child's individual needs, supporting their development as they grow.

As an experienced Portage Home Visitor, you will promote and uphold the principles of the National Portage Association (NPA) while working collaboratively with children and families across the local authority. In partnership with parents and carers, you will assess children's developmental needs and design, implement and review individualised programmes of activities. These programmes will be embedded into daily routines and focused on agreed long-term outcomes.

You will make regular home visits to monitor progress, review development and plan follow-up activities tailored to each child's emerging needs. Through one-to-one support, you will work closely with parents and carers to develop play, communication and positive relationships, empowering them to take a lead role as active partners in their child's development.

It will be key for you to contribute to the effective day-to-day organisation and management of the Portage service, including managing referrals, maintaining accurate records on IT systems, liaising with parents and referring professionals, collecting data and prioritising and organising your own caseload. In addition, you will support the planning and delivery of Portage parent play and stay groups, helping to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for families.

We require you to hold a relevant qualification, such as NVQ Level 3 in Education, Health or Social Care, NNEB, BTEC or equivalent qualification. It is essential that you have significant experience of working with early years children with SEND, including social and communication differences, sensory and physical needs and global developmental delay. You will have an up-to-date knowledge of local support services, national organisations and the NPA guidelines.

You must be able to demonstrate knowledge and experience of using augmentative and alternative communication systems, such as Makaton, alongside visual support strategies. Given the requirements of the role, you will be confident in producing clear, accurate and person-centred plans and reports. While not essential, it is desirable that you have attended a portage workshop and have experience of working in partnership with parents within the family home.

This role is hybrid, with a mixture of working at our office in Patchway and from home. Please note that due to the nature of this role, it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained. You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle or have an alternative means of travel.

As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities. We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.

We know our team work best when they have balance in their lives, and we offer genuine flexibility to help them achieve that work/life balance. We value our staff as individuals, investing in their careers and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps make the greatest long-term difference in work. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, ensuring all our staff are given the right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here. We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of. We're working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life. We're investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential.

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference. Be part of it!