ELSA Letter – selected pupils

Dear Parents/Carers,

At Uphill Village Academy we are very fortunate to have a new Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) trained. We now have three qualified ELSA’s to support our pupils. Mrs Beal has joined Mrs de Scossa and Mrs Hood and they are here to support children in the development of their emotional literacy. The ELSA programme is a nationwide network and every trained ELSA is supported and attends regular supervision sessions with Educational Psychologists.

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 with a student:

• Recognising emotions – how they make our bodies feel and what we might see in others.
• Self-esteem.
• Social skills.
• Friendship skills – including what is a positive friendship.
• Anger management.
• Loss and bereavement.

How does the ELSA sessions work?

• Sessions can be individual or in small groups and will be tailored to the student’s individual needs.
• Sessions are fun, relaxed and not pressured. There are lots of different activities that can be carried out during these sessions.
• The sessions include ice breakers, games and time to talk.
• Sessions generally run for a term and then are reviewed by the ELSA’s and the SENCO.
• Pupils are encouraged to use new skills learned in their ELSA session.

We are inviting your child to attend ELSA sessions this term (September-December) with a group of peers. These sessions will be held during the afternoons and on a fortnightly basis. If you would like to discuss this further or require any additional information, please don’t hesitate to come and talk to us or alternatively email us on [email protected]

Best wishes,

Mrs de Scossa, Mrs Hood and Mrs Beal