ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) is an educational psychology led intervention which aims to promote the emotional well being of children and young people. It recognises that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are also addressed.
ELSA is an initiative developed and supported by educational psychologists who apply psychological knowledge of children’s social and emotional development to particular areas of need and to specific casework.
We have a number of staff trained in ELSA who work across the Matlock and Dales Primary Partnership.
We established the ELSA programme as we wanted to provide qualified support to our children who would benefit from :
ELSA support is much more than having a friendly chat with an anxious child. It is also much more than problem-solving some difficulties a young person is having.
ELSA support is about developing a respectful relationship in which the young person is enabled to think about their situation without feeling judged or criticised. It is intended to be short-term purposeful support, usually to help develop new skills or coping strategies that enable the pupil to experience greater success.
The ELSA programme is led by Mrs. Bethan Lloyd. She works closely with the school's Educational Psychologist who provides supervision and regular reviews of practice.
Normally ELSAs plan to meet with a pupil weekly. Half an hour to an hour is often a good length of time for a session. It allows time to:
Most programmes last for half a term to a term. The programme always has a specific focus. Once the programme aims have been met, it may be appropriate to move from a planned programme to some informal follow-up support while the youngster generalises new learning into the wider school context. This maintenance support would involve seeing the pupil less frequently or more briefly than during the programme itself.
Some pupils may at a later date receive a further period of intervention with different programme aims.