Welcome

Hello and welcome to our school ELSA page.

Emotional wellbeing is a priority at Horrington Primary School and one of the ways in which we support pupils is by having staff trained as Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA).

On this page we will share some information about the Emotional Literacy Support on offer at Horrington.  We have included some helpful advice on how you can help your child; for example in areas of empathy and self esteem.  Parents and carers will be able to find out about recommended books which maybe useful and links to other websites for some self-help at home.

What is ELSA?

There will always be children and young people in schools facing life challenges that detract from their ability to engage with learning.  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.

The majority of ELSA work is delivered on an individual basis, but sometimes small group work is more appropriate, especially in the areas of social and friendship skills.  Sessions are fun, we use a range of activities such as: games, role-play with puppets or therapeutic activities such as mindfulness or arts and craft.

In ELSA sessions at Horrington Primary School we aim to provide support for a wide range of emotional needs:

Recognising emotions

Anxiety
    Self-esteem
    Social skills
    Friendship skills

   Anger management
    Loss and bereavement

How does ELSA work?

Children are usually referred for ELSA support by their class teacher and/or Senior Leaders.  The referral is given to our SENDCo who will the co-ordinate with the schools ELSA's and create a specific programme for the child.  Sessions are normally one session a week over a 6-8 week period.  With the programme aims in mind we then plan support sessions to facilitate the pupil in developing new skills and coping strategies that allow them to manage social and emotional demands more effectively.

In addition to in school referrals, if you as a parent/carer have any concerns relating to your child's social and/or emotional wellbeing please discuss these with the class teacher, in the first instance, who will then liaise with our school SENDCo to determine if an ELSA course might be beneficial.

Supporting - not fixing

Remember, ELSAs are not there to fix children's problems. What we can do is provide emotional support.

We aim to establish a warm, respectful relationship with a pupil and to provide a reflective space where they are able to share honestly their thoughts and feelings.

It needs to be appreciated that change cannot necessarily be achieved rapidly and is dependent upon the context and complexity of the presenting issues. 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. Training and development of ELSAs is an ongoing process and wisdom is required to recognise when issues are beyond the level of expertise that could reasonably be expected of an ELSA. In these cases our school SENDCo will support parents with referrals for specialist counselling, play therapy or to CAMHS.