ELSA at The Paragon
Welcome to our school ELSA page which provides information about Emotional Literacy Support at The Paragon School.
What is ELSA?
There will always be children and young people who would benefit from greater support to increase their emotional literacy. ELSA is an initiative developed and supported by educational psychologists, recognising that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are also addressed.
What is ELSA Intervention?
An ELSA in a school 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 to support with the following:
- Recognising emotions
- Anxiety
- Self-esteem
- Social skills
- Friendship skills
- Anger management
- Loss and bereavement
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. In our fun sessions we use a range of activities such as: games and role play or therapeutic activities such as mindfulness or arts and craft. ELSA sessions take place a dedicated calm, safe space for the child to feel supported and nurtured.
How does ELSA work?
Children are usually referred for ELSA support by their class teacher. Every term we will identify and prioritise which children require a weekly programme for an average of 8 weeks. We 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.
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.
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 professional judgement is required to recognise when issues are beyond the level of expertise that could reasonably be expected of an ELSA. In these cases, school supports parents with referrals for specialist counselling, play therapy or to CAMHS.
Parents' Self-Help section
Here we can sign-post you to some of the different reading materials which you may choose to use at home.
What to Do When You Worry Too Much (A kids guide to overcoming anxiety) by Dawn Huebner. An interactive self-help book designed to guide 6-12 year olds and their parents through the cognitive-behavioural techniques most often used in the treatment of generalised anxiety. Engaging, encouraging, and easy to follow, this book educates, motivates, and empowers children to work towards change.
Ruby's Worry - Similar to 'Huge bag Of Worries', by Virginia Ironside, Ruby discovers that recognising and sharing a worry is a first step towards shrinking the worry. A reassuring and sensitive book - the perfect springboard for talking to children about sharing their hidden worries.
Angry Octopus - An anger management story for children written by Lori Lite. Children relate to the angry octopus in this story as the sea child shows him how to take a deep breath, calm down, and manage his anger. Children love to unwind and relax with this fun exercise known as progressive muscular relaxation. This effective stress and anger management technique focuses awareness on various muscle groups and breath to create a complete resting of the mind and body. This is a great little story to help children understand that they are in control of their emotions. It focuses on the ownership of feelings and emotions and taking command of the situation.
Rory Red - This book uses CBT at its core to help younger children understand their angry feelings and make the necessary changes to regulate their emotions. The book was written by Luke Baker, a former ELSA. Rory Red can be used to support children in emotional literacy, as well as to be read for leisure. It is the ideal book to help children understand and cope with their angry feelings. The language is simple and easy to understand and provides a great children's story about how to cope with angry emotions and teaches the important lesson that how you feel one day does not define who you are the next. This book would be perfect for EYFS and KS1, (possibly even Lower KS2).