Explorers Plus

Come and join us for our fun sessions jointly run with the Portage Team.

These groups are for parents and carers with a child aged 0-5 with SEND.

You DON’T NEED A DIAGNOSIS to attend and you don’t need to book, just turn up on the day.

Come and join us for this fun and relaxed session jointly run with the portage team if:

You are concerned about your child’s speech and language development.
You are waiting for an referral to a service at Kaleidoscope.
Your child has a social or communication need, developmental delay, physical disability or sensory need.
You are concerned about any part of your child’s development.
Your child struggles with play.
You have struggled to find a Stay & Play session that allows you and your child to play and learn without judgement.

Our friendly team will help support your child to:

enter the sessions if they struggle with new people and surroundings.
settle in at their own pace and in their own way.
choose activities that interest them and allow them to free play (there’s no routine).
access sensory, messy and outdoor play.
learn new skills at their own pace.
play alongside other children (not with them if this is a challenge for them).

Our friendly team will help support you with:

signposting to charities and support groups that could help you and your family.
meeting parents in the same situation as you.
learning more about some of the benefits or other support you that you may be able to get.
other courses and sessions that we run that could help.
a non-judgemental space for you to play, learn and have fun with your child.

What our parents and carers say:

“My son enjoys and always looks forward to coming to his portage playgroup. My son has speech delay, slurred speech and is awaiting a diagnosis for Autism and ADHD. When he comes to this playgroup, my son gets to socialise and further develop his social skills, something that he finds difficult to do. Additionally, he gets to express himself a lot more through messy play and outdoor play, which is something he can’t do much at home because of where we live. Playgroup allows him to play and discover new toys he doesn’t have at home.” parent at Explorers Plus.

“My two little ones love coming here. The activities are so child-led and they love to explore and play. I get lots of ideas of what do at home, and Anne, April and Lisa have loads of expertise and support to offer. The atmosphere is so welcoming and my children are able to develop their concentration and confidence. There is no other setting that they engage so well in. I think M is relaxed by all the sensory and messy play and this helps him and his behaviour. They have formed trusting relationships with staff which helped them prepare for nursery. I am inspired by the lovely way staff interact with and included the children and I think this has helped my parenting. This session is amazing and means so much to me and two children, thank you. Reception staff also have the same lovely child friendly approach.” parent at Explorers Plus.