Introduction
Summary of contents
Children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are being addressed
Follow the extensive ‘case study’ of Hampshire Educational Psychology Service in this 364 page manual detailing everything from project planning to planning training and supplementary training. The book is separated into two parts; part one focuses on the planning of the project. Part two of The ELSA Trainers Manual focuses on training and provides you with a full training programme for your newly appointed ELSAs.
Chapter breakdown
Chapter 1 – project planning
Chapter 1 takes you through the project description, starting with giving you the basic facts behind ELSA:
- What is ELSA
- How do ELSAs support children and young people?
- Could a school have more than one ELSA?
- Does the ELSA intervention really make a difference?
Chapter 2 – planning the introduction of the ELSA project within a Local Authority
This chapter guides you through the process of planning an ELSA programme within a Local Authority and includes information on:
- Who to involve
- Information on different models for setting up a ELSA project such as small-scale pilot project, whole local authority approach, centrally funded and managed ELSA service
- Guidance on your communication strategy and how best to form a partnership between the educational psychology service and schools
- PowerPoint presentation on Hampshire’s experience – this includes slides, notes and handouts
Chapter 3 – planning training
In this chapter we look at the importance of making sure the supporting structure of your initiative is strong, this is a long term commitment and therefore in order for it to work many elements need to be considered, they are:
- How to indentify a project leader
- What you will need in terms of administrative support
- What schools will need from their LA and a sample contract between LA and school for resourcing
- How to indentify a suitable person to become an ELSA
- How to go about getting certification for ELSAs
Chapter 4 – supervision groups
Chapter 4 supervision groups and the benefits that organising a group can have on those involved. It looks at:
- Rationale for supervision
- How to lead a supervision group
Part two of The ELSA Trainers Manual focuses on training and provides you with a full training programme for your newly appointed ELSAs. The materials in this section include:
- PowerPoint presentations on all of the subjects covered in the training
- Matching facilitator notes
- Matching handouts for each part of the training
- A DVD complimenting the theme of Day 3of the training sessions
Day 1 training session
Day 1 of the training focuses on the introducing the trainee ELSAs to the project, both to its rationale and how it works. By the end of this day they should have:
- an understanding of what is meant by emotional literacy and its impact on pupil success
- the tools they need to be ready to at least begin planning a programme based on raising emotional awareness
- the awareness to begin working with a pupil before the second training day
The subjects covered in day one are:
• Emotional literacy in schools
• Raising emotional awareness
Day 2 training session
Day 2 concentrates on self-esteem and draws from a model of self-esteem developed by Michele Borba (1989) to identify the different areas of self-esteem. By the end of this session the ELSAs in training should be able to:
- Understand what is meant by self-esteem
- Understand the importance of self-esteem
- Identify the key characteristics of those with different self-esteem issues
- Utilise basic counselling skills provided within the training
The subjects covered in day 2 are:
• Self-esteem
• Active listening and communication skills
Day 3 training session
The primary focus of the third day is anger management. The training module considers the physiological changes that accompany it and presents a useful model – the firework model- for analysing the stages of an angry reaction. A DVD is provided of a training session delivered to ELSAs by the author and includes explanation of the purpose behind using puppets and in work with children and young people of all ages and the benefits of doing so. By the end of this session the group should be:
- More aware of the nature of anger
- capable to explore effective anger management
- able to highlight key elements of an intervention programme
The subjects covered in day 3 are:
• understanding and managing anger
• planning anger management programme
Day 4 training session
The development of social skills is the central focus of the fourth day of training. The training presentation considers the fundamental importance of interpersonal communication, since social interaction is an innate human motivation. It looks at how new skills are developed and identifies basic skills that should be addressed. ELSAs will be able to:
- understand the importance of interpersonal communication
- consider how new skills are learned
- explore basic social communication skills
- think about and plan experiential learning opportunities
The subjects covered in day 4 are:
• social skills training
• introduction to autism
Day 5 training session
The final day of training develops the theme of social skills by focusing specifically on friendship needs. By the end of the day ELSAs should have been made aware of which supervisin group they are assigned to and the date, time and venue for their first meeting along with:
- understanding the ethos of the circle of friends – an intervention that supports individual pupils
- the knowledge to consider friendship skills group work – how to set up groups and plan sessions
- therapeutic stories – how to use them and how to write them
Supplementary training sessions
Two supplementary training sessions included in The ELSA Trainers Manual that cover:
- Providing continuing professional development for ELSAs
- Loss and bereavement
Details
PowerPoint presentations for the Loss and bereavement section as well as facilitator notes
Testimonials
‘We should not underestimate any of the elements that comprise the ELSA training programme and this manual. The product that you have in your hand has taken much time and patience to develop, and has benefited from careful evaluation. As a senior manager or school improvement partner in a local authority or as a headteacher or senior school manager you can be confident that it will enhance the mission of the school; as an ELSA you will experience enhanced job satisfaction; as an educational psychologist you will experience enhanced collaborative working with colleagues in schools. Above all, though, as a child or young person in a school with an ELSA, you will experience enhanced wellbeing. So, be faithful to it – and the ELSA programme will be faithful to you.’
Look inside
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