Pastoral Support

Mrs Da Costa is our pastoral lead and supports the wellbeing of our pupils in school. She is based in the learning lodge where children can access a sensory curriculum, targeted emotional support and take part in targted interventions. Mrs Da Costa is our resident ELSA and also on our safeguarding team. She works closely with all of our families.  This page explains some facets of her role in greater detail.

Drawing and Talking

ELSA - Emotional Literacy Support Assistant

ELSAs are specialists with a wealth of experience of working with  children and young people. ELSAs are trained and regularly supervised by Educational Psychologists. The course tends to be 6 full days and covers many areas from emotional literacy to active listening. 

ELSAs are warm, kind and caring people who want to make children and young people feel happy in school. and to reach their potential socially, emotionally and academically. They understand the barriers to learning that some children and young people might have and can help them with this.

They can support the children and young person’s emotional development and help them cope with life’s challenges. ELSAs will also help children and young people to find solutions to problems they might have.

An ELSA is not there to fix problems but to help them find their own solutions and offer that important support to a child or young person.

Relationships are key in helping children and young people to feel safe and nurtured. ELSA is about creating a reflective space for the child or young person. ELSAs can support with a variety of issues including:

• Loss and bereavement
• Emotional Literacy
• Self-esteem
• Social Skills
• Friendship issues
• Relationships
• Managing strong feelings
• Anxiety and worries
• Bullying
• Conflict
• Emotional Regulation
• Growth Mindset
• Social and therapeutic stories
• Problem solving