Emotional Literacy Support Training

Published:

Summary:

Emotional Literacy Support Training is a 5 day training to enable staff to become Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (so that can support young people experiencing emerging mental health needs).

Description:

Emotional Literacy Support Training is a 5 day training programme to enable staff working with children and young people experiencing emerging mental health needs and issues with emotional wellbeing to becomes Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA’s).
ELSAs are trained to deliver individual and small group 6-12 week interventions to promote coping strategies. They cover a range of topics including self-esteem and resilience, emotional literacy, autism, therapeutic stories, early trauma and attachment, understanding anger, loss and bereavement, solution-focused conversations and circle of friends.
The ELSA course is delivered by practising Educational Psychologists who can then offer school-based supervision. Pre and post evaluations of the ELSA course show an increase in staff confidence and competence for working with children and young people with emerging mental health needs.
ELSAs develop relationships with the child or young person through weekly sessions but often also work hard to engage the parent(s).

Implementing the Practice:

  • Check with your local Educational Psychology Services as this training may already exist in your area
  • Participants must commit to all 5 days of the training course
  • Preserving and protecting time for the preventative aspect of the ELSA role (e.g. running groups) rather than falling back into reactive responses to children and young people who are in crisis
  • Facilitating ongoing group supervision to ensure ELSAs feel supported when they get ‘stuck’ and need some creative solutions for supporting a tricky case
  • Encouraging ELSAs to use a pre and post intervention measure to show progress, ensuring evidence of ‘making a difference’

Contact:

YOT:York YOT
Name:Angela Crossland
E-Mail:angela.crossland@york.gov.uk
Telephone:   01904 554565