Pastoral Support

ELSA - Emotional Literacy Support Assistant

An ELSA is a member of school staff who has had specialist training from educational psychologists, to support the emotional development of the children and young people within school. The ELSA within South Wootton Infant School is Mrs Chaplin. She has regular professional supervision from educational psychologists to help her in her work.
ELSAs help children and young people to develop emotional literacy and 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.

What is emotional literacy?

• Understanding and coping with 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 that ELSAs may work on are:

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

How does the ELSA work?

• A regular slot during the school week for 20-30 minutes, for a period of 6 weeks. This can be increased if necessary.
• 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/school 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.

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Lego Therapy

LEGO Therapy is a structured, play-based intervention that uses collaborative LEGO building to  develop social, communication, and teamwork skills, particularly for children with autism or social 
interaction challenges.

How it works

• Builder: Assembles the LEGO pieces
• Engineer: Reads instructions and guides the building process
• Supplier: Finds and provides the correct pieces
• Director (optional): Oversees the project and coordinates the team 
  Children take turns, communicate, and negotiate to complete the LEGO model, which 
  encourages turn-taking, listening, problem-solving, and sharing.
  The therapy can progress from building pre-designed sets to creating original models, stop-motion animations, or robotics projects

  Implementation

  
  Sessions are facilitated at SWIS by Mrs Chaplin who guides the children, ensuring a safe and structured environment. The therapy typically runs over several weeks, allowing children to practice and generalize social skills in a predictable, supportive setting. LEGO Therapy is adaptable for different ages, abilities, and interests, making it a flexible tool for both educational and therapeutic contexts.