Ysgol Gynradd Rogiet Primary School

ELSA 

Emotional Literacy Support

Hello and welcome to our school ELSA page! 

We are pleased to be able to share information with parents and carers about Emotional Literacy Support. On this page we will post ideas and helpful advice, book recommendations and links to other websites for you to help your child at home with issues such as self-esteem, empathy and managing their feelings.

What is ELSA?

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 being addressed. We have a qualified Emotional Literacy Support Assistant in school. Mrs Smiles has been trained by Educational Psychologists to plan and deliver programmes of support to children experiencing temporary or longer term additional emotional needs.

The majority of ELSA work is delivered on an individual basis but sometimes group work is more appropriate, especially in the areas of social and friendship skills. Sessions are fun, using a range of activities including games, role-play, arts and crafts. ELSA sessions take place in our lovely ELSA room, which provides a calm, safe place for children to feel supported and nurtured.

ELSA aims to provide support for a wide range of emotional needs:-

(Please click on each need for additional information)

Recognising emotions

Social Skills

Friendships

Anger management

Anxiety

Loss and bereavement

How does Elsa work?

Children are usually referred for ELSA support by their class teacher or ALNco. Target areas of concern will be identified by the teacher, then, with the programme aims in mind, Mrs Smiles will plan and deliver the support sessions. The sessions will enable the children to identify and explore their feelings and responses and to develop new skills and coping strategies that will help them manage social and emotional demands more effectively.

Supporting - not fixing 

ELSA’s are not there to fix childrens problems. What they can do is provide emotional support. An ELSA aims to provide a warm, respectful relationship with each child and a reflective space for them to share honestly their thoughts and feelings.

It needs to be appreciated that change cannot necessarily be achieved rapidly and is dependent on the context and complexity of the presenting issues. For children with long term or more complex needs, it is unrealistic to expect ELSA intervention to resolve all their difficulties. Training and development of ELSA’s is an ongoing process and wisdom is required to recognise when issues are beyond the level of ELSA’s expertise. In such cases Rogiet School can support parents with referrals for specialist counselling, play therapy and or to CAMHS. The Educational Psychologist who works with Rogiet has regular supervision sessions with our ELSA and can offer advice on the suitability or nature of ELSA involvement in complex cases.

So...what do the children think?!

On completion of ELSA the children are asked to reflect on their experiences and kindly leave some feedback. Here are some of their lovely comments:-

“I like coming to ELSA. It makes me happy!”

“ELSA has helped me feel more confident”

“It has helped me with my worries. My favourite bit was making my Worry Monster”

“I will remember - I can do it!”

“It has helped me a lot with my anger and how to calm down”

Parents' Self-help section

Here we can signpost some of the websites that can offer help and advice for parents.

There are lots of inspiring resources on the Elsa Support website, including ones specifically related to coronavirus. The link is below:

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

There is also an ELSA Parent Group on Facebook which you can join.