ELSA

What is ELSA Intervention?

An ELSA is an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. ELSAs are specialists with a wealth of experience of working with children and young people. ELSAs are trained and regularly supervised by Educational Psychologists.

ELSA Relationship

ELSAs are warm, kind and caring people who want to make children and young people feel happy in school. and to reach their potential socially, emotionally and academically. They understand the barriers to learning that some children and young people might have and can help them with this.

They can support the children and young person’s emotional development and help them cope with life’s challenges. ELSAs will also help children and young people to find solutions to problems they might have.

An ELSA is not there to fix problems but to help them find their own solutions and offer that important support to a child or young person.

Relationships are key in helping children and young people to feel safe and nurtured. ELSA is about creating a reflective space for the child or young person.

What areas does an ELSA help with?

Loss and bereavement
Emotional Literacy
Self-esteem
Social Skills
Friendship issues
Relationships
Managing strong feelings
Anxiety and worries
Bullying
Conflict
Emotional Regulation
Growth Mindset
Social and therapeutic stories
Problem solving

How are children or young people referred for ELSA?

Class teacher referral
Sendco referral
Parent referral through their school
Child referral through their school
Outside agency referral

How long should an ELSA Intervention last?

ELSA intervention should be a short term focus intervention with clear aims. Usually half a term to a full term in length.

ELSA Short term focused intervention

The vast majority of ELSA sessions are proactive. This means that there are targets for the ELSA to achieve with the child or young person. This makes the intervention measurable so the school knows the child or young person has made progress and the intervention has been successful. The targets are known as SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time limited.