ELSA –Emotional Literacy Support Assistant
Welcome!
Welcome to our school’s ELSA page.
We aim to post ideas and helpful advice on ways to help support your child with their emotional health.
Parents and Carers will be able to find out about books which may be useful and links to relevant websites.
What is an ELSA?
ELSAs are Emotional Literacy Support Assistants. They help children and young people to understand their emotions and feelings and to respect the feelings of those around them. Children learn lots of new skills at school, not just academic, but social and emotional skills. Whilst some children require extra support with their English and Maths, others may benefit from emotional support.
Our ELSA has been trained through educational psychologists in order to provide support for individuals and groups: -
- Anxiety
- Recognising emotions
- Self-esteem and communication skills
- Anger management
- Social skills
- Friendships
- Loss and bereavement
The ELSA continues to receive regular supervised sessions with the educational psychologists throughout the year with other ELSAs in the area.
How does ELSA work?
Children are referred by the class teacher, SENDCO or Senior Leaders and an ELSA session usually runs for 6-8 weeks. The ELSA will discuss with the class teacher/SENDCO what intervention is required for each individual child. ELSAs are not there to fix the child’s problems but what we can do is provide emotional support and establish a respectful relationship and a safe space to share honestly their thoughts and feelings. You can find out more about ELSA here: www.elsanetwork.org.
Children’s Comments about ELSA
“I like coming because it makes me happy and I am listened to”
“ELSA has helped me to step out and make new friends and to join in with games”
“I like coming to ELSA because I can be open about things, our ELSA is very trustworthy”
“It makes me feel happy and it makes me feel calm”
“ELSA helps me when I am sad and worried. I like ELSA”
“I like coming to see our ELSA”
Our ELSA room
Useful Links
