Our Support

Pastoral Support

Old Mill aims to support every child and their family both academically and through relevant pastoral support.

Mental health and wellbeing is high priority at Old Mill. As a result of this, we place value on continuously developing and growing our pastoral team. Our Assistant Head is a trained Mental Health Lead and we have one member of staff who holds the ‘Emotional Learning Support’ qualification and who is experienced in working with children in groups or 1:1 to support with areas such as bereavement, self-esteem, social skills and behaviour. Children are referred to our ELSA by class teachers on a termly basis.

The Assistant Headteacher, SENDCo and ELSA are also supported by a team of SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) 1:1 staff.

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)

What is ELSA?

There will always be children and young people in schools facing life challenges that detract from their ability to engage with learning. Some will require greater support to increase their emotional literacy than others. ELSA is an initiative developed and supported by educational psychologists. It recognises that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are also addressed.

We are fortunate to have a qualified Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) at Old Mill Primary School. Hazel Hibberd has been trained by Educational Psychologists to plan and deliver programmes of support to pupils who are experiencing temporary or longer term additional emotional needs. The majority of ELSA work is delivered through group work, but sometimes individual sessions are more appropriate. Sessions are fun using a range of activities such as: games, role-play with puppets or arts and craft. ELSA sessions take place in our newly refurbished 'ELSA room' which provides a calm, safe space for the child to feel supported and nurtured.

In ELSA we aim to provide support for a wide range of emotional needs:

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

How does ELSA work?

Children are usually referred for ELSA support by their Class Teacher, Senior Leaders or the SENDCo. Every half term, referrals are reviewed to identify and prioritise which children require a weekly programme for the next 6-8 weeks. With the programme aims in mind we then plan support sessions to facilitate the pupil in developing new skills and coping strategies that allow them to manage social and emotional demands more effectively.

Supporting - not fixing

Remember, ELSAs are not there to fix children's problems. What we can do is provide emotional support.

We aim to establish a warm, respectful relationship with a pupil and to provide a reflective space where they are able to share honestly their thoughts and feelings.

It needs to be appreciated that change cannot necessarily be achieved rapidly and is dependent upon the context and complexity of the presenting issues. For children with complex or long-term needs it is unrealistic to expect ELSA intervention to resolve all their difficulties, however support will be designed to target specific aspects of a child's need. Training and development of ELSAs is an ongoing process and wisdom is required to recognise when issues are beyond the level of expertise that could reasonably be expected of an ELSA. The Educational Psychologist that works with our school would be able to offer advice on suitability or nature of ELSA involvement in complex cases.