A Time To Deliver sets out the urgent case for making Portage a nationally recognised and accessible early intervention support for children with developmental differences and disabilities and their families.

The report highlights what happens when early support is delayed, unavailable or dependent on where a child lives. It brings together research, evidence and the experiences of families to show that early, home-based, family-centered support can transform outcomes for children while reducing pressure on wider health, education and social care systems.

Portage supports babies and young children in the earliest years of life, working alongside parents and carers to build confidence, understand a child’s strengths, and embeds learning and development into everyday family life. It is based on decades of evidence showing that early intervention, when it matters most, can improve communication, learning, relationships and wellbeing.

However, access to Portage remains inconsistent across England. Many families face long waits or are unable to access this specialist support because of where they live. The report explores the impact of this inequality — not only for children and families, but for schools, services and public finances when needs become more complex and costly later.

A Time To Deliver calls for action to:

• make Portage a nationally guaranteed entitlement;
• introduce sustainable, ring-fenced funding;
• establish minimum standards of provision across all areas;
• protect and grow the skilled Portage workforce; and
• embed Portage within SEND reform and early intervention strategies.

Children do not wait for systems. Development happens now.

This report is a call to ensure that every child, in every community, has access to the right support at the right time.

A Time To Deliver (91.09 MB)