• An Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) is a specialist teaching assistant who works with young people to support with social and emotional development.
  • ELSA sessions help our pupils understand their emotions and respect the feelings of those around them by providing time and space to think about personal circumstances and how to manage them.
  • An ELSA can help with social skills, emotions, bereavement, social/therapeutic stories, anger management, self-esteem, counselling skills such as solution focus and friendship.
  • ELSAs are trained and regularly supervised by Educational Psychologists to ensure that knowledge and understanding develops and best practice is shared.
  • ELSA sessions take place throughout Wandle Valley Academy depending on the individual pupil. There are allocated ELSA spaces as well as multi-functional spaces that some pupils respond better to. This may also include outside or in the gym.
Music Mark School for the 2020/21 Academic Year