An ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) is someone who is trained to support children in the development of their emotional literacy.

What is emotional literacy?

. Understanding and coping with the feelings about ourselves and others

. Developing high self-esteem and positive interactions with others

. Being emotionally literate helps children focus better on their learning

Some of the areas the ELSA may work on:

. Recognising emotions

. Self-esteem

. Social skills

. Friendship skills

. Anger management

. Loss and bereavement

How does the ELSA work?

. A regular slot during the school week of around 20 minutes

. Sessions may be on a one-off basis

. Sessions can be individual or in small groups and are tailored to the child's individual needs

. Sessions are fun and might include role play, board games, arts and crafts and stories

. They include time to talk

. A pupil’s progress will be reviewed

As a parent/carer how can you help?

. By informing the class teacher if there are any issues that may affect your child

. Please feel free to contact your child's teacher or ELSA if you have any questions

The ELSA in this school is Mr Charlie Brown and can be contacted through the school office using admin@gw.act-academytrust.org

Further information on ELSA can be found on the following link:

ELSA Interventions