What is an ELSA?
There will always be children and young people in schools facing life challenges that detract from their ability to engage with learning, and some will require greater support to increase their emotional literacy than others. ELSA is an initiative developed and supported by educational psychologists. It recognises that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are also addressed.
An ELSA is an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant who works with either small groups of children or individuals to support emotional literacy development. This means understanding and implementing strategies to improve the way that they think, feel and process emotions, usually in relation to themselves.
Areas that our ELSAs can support can include:
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Recognising emotions
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Self-esteem
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Social skills
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Friendship skills
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Anger management
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Loss and bereavement.
An ELSAs Role
Children are usually referred for ELSA support by their class teacher, Senior Leaders or on occasion the SENCo. Every week, our Inclusion Team meet to discuss to identify and prioritise children that may benefit from interventions such as this. The programme usually runs for 6-8 weeks (sessions lasting between 30-45 minutes once per week) so we will plan support sessions to facilitate each child in developing new skills and coping strategies which will allow them to manage social and emotional demands more effectively.
Supporting, Not Fixing
An ELSAs main role is to provide a child with emotional support. They aim to establish a warm rapport and provide a reflective space where children are able to share their thoughts and feelings honestly. It needs to be appreciated that change cannot necessarily be achieved rapidly and is dependent upon each individual. For children with complex or long-term needs it is unrealistic to expect ELSA intervention to resolve all their difficulties, however support will be designed to target specific aspects of a child's need.