Supporting our learners in understanding their emotions forms the basis of our pastoral care package and is key to enabling their success.
We understand that many of our young people have experienced trauma at some point in their lives. Our aim is to enable our learners to understand and manage their emotions and develop a range of coping strategies which they can draw from.
Kirsty Cooper is our Inclusion Manager, Senior Mental Health Lead & DDSL. Emma Wilcox and Tracy Willcock work as our Learning Mentors/DDSL's. Kirsty, Emma and Tracy work with every child at Kassia providing interventions and support for all of our learners.
Kirsty, Emma and Tracy are always on hand to support learners when they become overwhelmed and anxious. Proactive in their approach Kirsty, Emma and Tracy work closely with our young people from their initial inductions to daily support right through to re-integration if/when appropriate.
Our learning mentors are skilled practitioners and are trained in therapeutic care, trauma informed approaches and mental health support. Learners are supported through daily interaction and guidance, timetabled 1:1 sessions focussed on area of need and small group pastoral interventions.
All learners have access to our learning mentors support. In addition to working with learners in school our learning mentors often complete home visits if learners are struggling attending school.
Kirsty, Emma and Tracy work closely with our External Agencies ensuring learners get the help and support they need.
Often coming into school to deliver sessions and group interventions all of our learners have full access to the wrap around pastoral care they need.
Agencies we work closely with:
ELSAs are emotional literacy support assistants. They are school staff who have had special training from educational psychologists to support the emotional development of children and young people in school. ELSAs have regular professional supervision from educational psychologists to help them in their work. ELSAs help children and young people learn to understand their emotions and respect the feelings of those around them. They provide the time and space for pupils to think about their personal circumstances and how they manage them.
Most ELSA programmes will last for 6 to 12 weeks, helping the pupil to learn some specific new skills or coping strategies. Clear programme aims (SMART targets) need to be set early on and each session has an objective - something the ELSA wants to help the pupil understand or achieve. The ELSA isn’t there to ‘fix’ the child. For pupils with complex or long-term needs, it’s unrealistic to expect ELSA support to resolve all their difficulties. Change is a long-term process that needs everyone’s help
ELSA work should be fun – that’s what makes the difference. It isn’t a reward for bad behaviour. By building a positive relationship with challenging children the ELSA can help them think about and reduce their troublesome behaviour. It will take time, but will be worth it in the end. You can find out more about ELSAs at www.elsanetwork.org
Below is from an article written by Sheila Burton, Area Principal Educational Psychologist, Hampshire Educational Psychology Service, she created the ELSA programme.
Programmes may focus on developing an understanding of emotions and increasing emotional vocabulary so that pupils are better equipped to express their feelings verbally, reducing the need to communicate through difficult behaviour. Managing anger and conflict, raising self esteem and improving social interactions are other key areas of focus. Some pupils receive support to help them recover from a family break-up or bereavement. Sessions need to have a clear objective and should incorporate a range of engaging practical activities to develop their emotional literacy.
The ELSA plans support sessions to facilitate the young person in developing new skills and coping strategies that allow them to manage social and emotional demands more effectively. Each session should have its own objective that builds towards the longer-term aims
The ELSA project is an example of the opportunities for influencing wide ranging change that occur when educational psychology services enter into innovative partnerships with schools. The psychologists provide knowledge and expertise that enhance the capacity of staff in school to understand and meet the social and emotional needs of their pupils
An ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) is a member of staff who is trained to support children in the development of their emotional literacy.
What is emotional literacy?
Some of the areas the ELSA may work on:
How does the ELSA work?
As a parent/carer, how can you help?
By informing the class teacher if there are any issues that may be affecting your child.
If you require any further information regarding Elsa, please contact Emma Wilcox, Learning Mentor: emma.wilcox@tkas.org.uk
Drawing and Talking Therapy is the number one alternative to CBT and direct talking therapies, that can often be confronting or limiting in the processing of pain or trauma. As an attachment-based therapeutic intervention, Drawing and Talking Therapy is designed to complement CAMHS and other specialist therapies.
Drawing and Talking allows individuals to discover and communicate emotions through a non-directed technique, setting it apart from existing solution-focused and cognitive-based therapies and interventions.
The Drawing and Talking is a powerful and simple person-centred therapeutic approach. It is a one-to-one intervention to help the person express how they feel by drawing their problems and talking about them.
After completion of the Drawing and Talking therapy, individuals are able to control their behaviour and most importantly have higher self-esteem, allowing them to thrive in the world around them.
