ElSA intervention was developed to address the emotional needs of pupils at schools and colleges. 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 their professional knowledge of children’s social and emotional development to areas of need experienced by pupils. They provide on-going professional supervision to help maintain high quality in the work undertaken by ELSAs, thereby helping to ensure safe practice for ELSAs and pupils alike.
The role title of ELSA may only legitimately be used by people who:
- have attended (or are currently attending) a full ELSA training course delivered by one or more fully qualified educational psychologists (courses lasting a minimum of 5 but more usually 6 days)
- regularly attend half-termly supervision in small groups (with a recommended maximum of 8 ELSAs per group and duration of 2 hours per session), led by a qualified educational psychologist
- are currently delivering bespoke programmes of support to individual pupils and sometimes small groups
At Llanrhidian we are now able to create individualised support programmes to meet the emotional needs of children in our care. Pupils are referred by the class teacher and will then complete a 6 - 8 week block of intervention designed to support their emotional and behavioural needs. We could be focusing upon self-esteem, Self -awareness, motivation, empathy and social skills.
The ELSA's role is not to find a fix for children who are struggling but to give them the tool kit necessary to manage these emotions.