Pastoral Support

ELSA

ELSA stands for ‘Emotional Literacy Support Assistant’ and is an Educational Psychology led intervention aimed at supporting children with their emotional wellbeing. Mrs Carpenter has undergone training with the Educational Psychology service in Medway to be able to undertake ELSA sessions in school.

ELSA covers (but is not limited to):

• Understanding and managing emotions
• Bereavement, separation and loss
• Social Skills
• Friendship issues
• Behaviour management
• Self-esteem and confidence
• Resilience

Teachers can refer pupils for ELSA support via a form and Mrs Carpenter will then liaise with parents to look at what is needed and if ELSA is appropriate.

Sessions take place weekly in the ‘ELSA Shed’. Children are familiar with the room and it provides a quiet, calming and confidential space to work with pupils.

                                    If you feel that your child would benefit from ELSA, please speak with your

                                    child’s class teacher or Mrs Carpenter and they will be added to the waiting

                                    list.

                                    ELSA sessions can take place individually, or if there are

                                    pupils experiencing the same difficulties, it may be more

                                    appropriate for them to take part in an ELSA group. All of this

                                    will be discussed with parents before sessions begin.

Sessions will normally last 6 weeks, but are reviewed and can continue if necessary.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

Mrs Carpenter has been trained in delivering MHFA to support pupils and adults in school that may be experiencing difficulties with their Mental Health. Training included how to spot signs and symptoms of a Mental Health crisis, normalising mental health and moving away from stigmas, encouraging young people and adults to talk about their own mental health, discovering ways to develop and increase positive mental health attitudes in school and in all school users.

LEGO Club

Miss Coppin and Mrs Carpenter are both trained to deliver Lego Therapy. This helps to support children with social skills and communication difficulties, encourages team work, sharing and problem solving. Lego therapy helps children to consider different ways of doing things and therefore to accept other children’s points of view.

Play Therapy / Drawing and Talking Therapy

Talking about their problems and feelings can be hard for children, but in therapy sessions, children explore their own creativity and express themselves using media such as drawing and painting, water and sand, clay and dough, dolls and figures, puppets, guided play, drama and music. This is particularly helpful for children that may have experienced a trauma of some kind and are having difficulty in expressing themselves.

Mrs Carpenter is trained in and holds the following qualifications:

• ELSA
• Mental Health First Aid
• Adult Teaching Certificate
• Play Therapy
• Drawing and Talking Therapy
• Lego Intervention Therapy
• Level 1 Counselling
• Autism Awareness
• Graded Care Profile 2