Croeso!

Hello and welcome to our school ELSA page!

We are pleased to be able to share information with parents about Emotional Literacy Support on the school website. On this page we aim to post ideas and helpful advice on how you children's wellbeing can be supported in areas such as empathy and self esteem or dealing with anxiety, concerns and developing and maintaining friendships.

Parents and carers will be able to find out about recommended books which may be useful and links to other websites for some self-help at home.

What is ELSA?

Unfortunately, there will always be children and young people in schools facing life challenges that detract in some way from their ability to engage with learning. 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 lucky enough to have two qualified Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) at Ysgol Sychdyn. They have been trained by Flintshire 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 on an individual basis, but sometimes small group work is more appropriate, especially in the areas of social and friendship skills. Sessions are fun; ELSAs use a range of activities such as games, stories, comic strips, role-play with puppets or arts and crafts. 

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

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