ELSA

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant

What is Elsa?

An ELSA is an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. ELSAs are trained and supervised by educational psychologists. We have four ELSAs at St Francis School: Mrs Miles, Mrs Greenhough, Miss Whelan and Mrs Davies. ELSAs aim to help to ensure that pupils feel happy in school.

 

The ELSA intervention is part of our holistic approach to meeting the needs of our pupils at all levels. Being emotionally supported will also help a pupil to reach their potential educationally by reducing any barriers to learning. We know that a happier pupil will always be more ready and open to learn.

 

ELSAs help pupils to understand their emotions and respect the feelings of those around them. They provide a consistent private space, time, and the opportunity for pupils to think about their personal circumstances and how they manage them.

 

 

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 and ELSAs are trained to use a range of activities such as games, role-play with puppets or arts and craft to support the pupil. ELSA sessions can take place in our ELSA rooms or outside, they are relaxing areas to help pupils feel nurtured.

 

ELSAs aim to provide support for a wide range of emotional needs such as:

  • Recognising emotions
  • Self-esteem
  • Social skills
  • Friendship skills
  • Managing ‘big’ feelings
  • Loss and bereavement

How does Elsa work?

Pupils are usually referred for ELSA support by their class teacher, senior leaders or by parents’ request.  The ELSAs and class teachers meet regularly to discuss the referral forms and to identify and prioritise which pupils require the weekly sessions.  They 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. The sessions initially last 6-8 weeks, outcomes from sessions are logged on CPOMS, at the end of a block a review takes place to reflect on whether the support needs to be continued. There is usually a waiting list for ELSA support, but this is regularly reviewed, and we work to try to keep wait times as short as possible. 

 

Supporting - Not 'Fixing'

An ELSAs role is to provide emotional support rather than ‘fix’ problems or take them away.  The ELSAs aim to establish a warm, respectful relationship with a pupil and to provide a reflective space where they are able to openly share their thoughts and feelings.

 

It is important to recognise that change cannot necessarily be achieved rapidly and is dependent upon the context and complexity of the presenting issues.  Training and development of ELSAs is an on-going process and wisdom is required to recognise when issues are beyond the level of expertise that could reasonably be expected of an ELSA.  In this case, it may be appropriate for school to sign-post to other avenues of support.

 

What next?

The ELSA will liaise with teachers, and parents if they would like to discuss progress. Once the sessions finish, the pupil will hopefully be able to implement and transfer any guidance and any new skills taught into their regular routine. It may be that further support is required in the future, with a similar or different focus, in which case the pupil can be re-referred back to an ELSA.