Emotion and Wellbeing Support
At Westfield Primary Academy we believe strongly in caring for our children, families and wider community. As part of our school based early help offer our Pupil Family Workers and ELSA support parents and children both in and out of school.
Georgia Goulding is our school Pupil and family support worker, and is part of the Safeguarding Team. This pastoral role includes working closely with children, parents/careers, staff and outside agencies to ensure the well-being of individual pupils is fully supported.
For the child, they are someone supportive to talk to, share successes with, or provide help with difficulties or worries. They offer a ‘safe’ place and work with children to raise self-esteem, remove barriers to learning and thus allow children to reach their full potential. For the parents/careers, they offer a listening ear, can share positive parenting skills, lend resources and, where needed, refer families to external agencies for more in-depth advice.
What is ELSA support?
In schools, ELSA stands for Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. ELSA support in schools is a project designed to help schools support the emotional needs of their pupils.
ELSA acknowledges that children and young people learn best when they feel happier, and their emotional needs are being addressed.
What can ELSAs help with?
There are a lot of emotional skills that ELSA can help with, including:
- Social Skills
- Bereavement
- Social Situations
- Therapeutic Stories
- Anger Management
- Self-esteem
- Real-life problem-solving skills
- Friendship
Some of the areas we can offer support includes:
- Domestic abuse
- Bereavement
- Low self esteem
- Loss and separation
- Routines at home
- Online Safety
- Healthy Relationships
- Friendships in school
- Anxiety and Emotional well-being
- Transitions between classes
- Transitions between schools
- Attendance
- Young Careers
- Hygiene and self-care
- Self-harm
Identified children can have the opportunity to spend designated periods with Mrs Goulding on a 1:1 basis, or within a small group to share information confidentially or talk through issues that concern them.
What are the benefits for pupils?
- Improved motivation
- Raised self-esteem
- Increased confidence
- Reduced challenging behavior
- Developed social skills
- Coping skills
- Knowing what safe behavior is
- Increased positive attitudes
- Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Establishing and maintaining friendships
- Empathy for others
- Reach full learning potential
- Manage their own feelings successfully
Useful Links
Financial support
- Extra Care Support (anglianwater.co.uk)
- Fighting UK Poverty – Turn2us
- Benefits – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Family Fund
- Family Action, Building stronger families (family-action.org.uk)
- Reach Haverhill : Reach Haverhill
Well-being support