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Sandy Lane Primary School

ELSA & Wellbeing

Emotional literacy

We offer support for emotional literacy at Sandy Lane.

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.

Who supports emotional literacy?

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

Some of the areas ELSA may work on:

  • Recognising emotions.
  • Self-esteem.
  • Social skills.
  • Friendship skills.
  • Anger management.
  • Loss and bereavement.

How does ELSA work?

  • A regular slot during the school week for 30-45 minutes.
  • Sessions can be individual or in small groups and tailored to the child’s individual needs.
  • Sessions are fun and might include role-play, puppets, board games, art and craft and stories.
  • They include time to talk.
  • A pupil’s progress will be reviewed on a half-termly basis.

As a parent/carer, how can you help?

  • By informing the class teacher if there are any issues that may be affecting your child.
  • Please feel welcome to contact your child’s teacher or the ELSA if you have any questions.

Our trained ELSAs are Mrs Theresa Beasley, Miss Sam Madigan and Mrs Sue Westwood.