ELSA

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant

What is an ELSA?

An ELSA is a specialist teaching assistant

with a wealth of experience of working with children and their role is to support the emotional wellbeing of pupils. ELSA’s attend 6 days of training provided by Educational Psychologists in our local authority and attend on-going professional supervision sessions throughout the school year which are run by a designated Educational Psychologist. They are trained to develop and deliver individualised support programmes to meet the individual emotional needs of a child. An ELSA is a warm, kind and caring person who wants to make children feel happy in school and to reach their potential emotionally, socially and academically.

Who is our ELSA?

• Anger management
• Anxiety and worries
• Emotional Awareness
• Emotional regulation
• Friendship
• Loss and bereavement
• Relationships
• Self Esteem
• Social Skills

ELSA Reactive Support

 Sometimes, things happen in life such as bereavement, parents separating, divorce, long-term illness, ill pets and hospital stays and so on. I have flexible ELSA slots available each week where I can help the child reactively by supporting them immediately if these things happen. Reactive support is very much active listening, which is part of the ELSA training. Being able to provide support immediately shows the child that someone is there for them whilst they are at school, that they are seen and heard, feel safe, cared for and that there is a safe space for them to talk about their thoughts and feelings.

 How does ELSA work?

Children are usually referred for ELSA support either by their class teacher, our SENDCO (Mrs Williamson) or by parents’ request. Mrs Edge and Mrs Williamson meet regularly to discuss the referral forms and to identify and prioritise the children who need support. Working together and with other members of staff, they recognise the barriers that some children may have to learning.

After discussions with the teacher and/or parents and using the information provided on the referral form, Mrs Edge then plans an individualised support plan that will form the emotional support provided. The plan can change based on the needs of the child after each session.

ELSA sessions take place in our Sunshine Room which is the outdoor classroom. The surrounding wooded area makes it the perfect setting for the sessions to take place. It provides a calm, relaxing, reflective space for the child to be able to talk honestly and openly about their thoughts and feelings without feeling judged or criticised.

Please click here to view our ELSA leaflet which provides further information on the sessions.

Supporting – not fixing

 It is important to recognise that ELSA’s cannot fix a child’s problem. They are there to support emotionally and listen, providing the child with strategies that they can use if needed.

Sometimes, change cannot be achieved rapidly, and it is dependent upon the complexity and context of the child’s issues.  It is unrealistic to expect the ELSA intervention, for pupils with complex or long-term needs ,to resolve all their difficulties.  On occasion, the issues may be beyond the level of expertise that could be expected of an ELSA and in this case we, as a school, will be able to signpost you to outside agencies for support.

What do I do if my child needs support?

If you feel that your child may need ELSA support from Mrs Edge please speak to your child’s teacher or our SENDCO.  Alternatively, you can email admin@moorfield.halton.sch.uk requesting support and Mrs Edge will contact you directly.

BOOKS:

Bereavement book – A Hare Shaped Hole – read aloud, The Colour Monster ;     Read aloud version:   Colour Monster stand up puppet            

Anger – There’s a volcano in my tummy; Anxiety – A huge bag of worries ;   Read aloud version;  Self Esteem – You are awesome   

 RESOURCES             

Friendship resources – https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/resources/category/elsa-resources/friendship/

Emotions resources – https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/resources/category/elsa-resources/emotions/

Self Esteem resources – https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/resources/category/elsa-resources/self-esteem/

Social Skills resources – https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/resources/category/elsa-resources/social-skills-elsa-resources/

Transition resources – https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/resources/category/elsa-resources/transition/

Free resources – https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/category/free-resources/

Managing strong feelings resources – https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/resources/category/elsa-resources/strongfeelings/

Anxiety resources – https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/?s=anxiety