ELSA

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)

We are very fortunate to have one of the very first ELSAs to train in Wiltshire: Mrs Chapman who, with 12 years of experience, is our figurehead for emotional health and well-being, which has long been valued at Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop CE Primary School.
An introduction from our school’s ELSA – Mrs Chapman
As adults we know that when faced with the “stuff of life” such as bereavement, relationship difficulties, financial stress etc. it can become very hard to focus on our work and other daily responsibilities. With children as well as adults, the ability to absorb new information or learn new skills can be severely inhibited by anxiety, fear and sadness.
The ELSA programme first began in 2001 when the very first Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) posts were created in city primary schools, to work with children whose emotional needs were preventing them from making the most of their educational opportunities.
Largely overseen by Sheila Burton, who was based within the Hampshire Educational Psychology Service, ELSAs soon began to be school-based within Hampshire. This then began to spend to Dorset and then to Wiltshire.
I became one of an early group of ELSAs who trained in 2011 and went on to become one of the first ELSAs in Wiltshire. Now most schools have their own ELSA and the importance of emotional health and well-being, which has long been valued at Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop CE Primary School, is increasingly being recognised through schools and society as the key to being “learning ready”.
An ELSA is a specialist trained Teaching Assistant who works with children across a whole range of aspects of emotional needs with the aim of removing the barriers to learning which dealing with difficult emotions can create. I work individually or occasionally within small groups in areas such as: self-esteem, confidence, self-regulation, anxiety, identifying and managing emotions, friendship issues, bereavement or family split-ups and relaxation.
Being an ELSA is not about waving a magic wand and fixing things, it is more about helping children to learn more about emotions and giving them the tools they need to manage feelings and strategies to help them move forward.
Home Resources
We have access to several resources that could be useful to you at home if you would like specific support to support your child(ren). One of the resources we recommend with relaxation and worry-busing activities is:
https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/category/free-resources