The role of the ELSA
by Colin Woodcock, Educational Psychologist, Southampton Psychology Service
First published as 'Help Arrives - in the name of ELSA'. Action for Inclusion
A brief history of emotional literacy in Southampton
In the days before Children's and Young People's Plans it was down to Local Education Authorities to form their own strategic targets. Concerned in particular by the rise in permanent exclusions, Southampton, a new unitary authority in 1997, chose to identify emotional literacy as one such target, listing it in third position after literacy and numeracy over two successive strategic education plans. In practical terms this gave organisations such as the Educational Psychology Service in Southampton a mandate to develop methods of intervention in schools which promoted the emotional literacy and well-being of children and staff alongside more 'traditional' methods of working (such as EP casework). One such approach was the use of small group work with children, particularly in the area of anger management at first. EPs running groups in schools did so on the proviso that schools provided at least one member of staff to co-run the group, leading to an increase in schools' capacity and enthusiasm for tackling such work by themselves.
Peripatetic ELSA work
Southampton Psychology Service (SPS) favours working on the development of social and emotional skills in a group context where possible, since it is ultimately social contexts in which these skills will be required and used. Nonetheless, it was apparent from our group work that there were a small number of children who found it difficult to access this format and who required a more intensive 'wave three' type approach. In spring 2001 the service employed and trained five teaching assistants to work as Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) in the schools around the city. Visiting once a week, ELSAs worked typically for six to twelve weeks with individual children in schools towards targets set by EPs (EPs would request the involvement of an ELSA following their own involvement in a case if they felt ELSA work would be beneficial). Once again, a requirement of their involvement in any case was that schools provided a member of staff (in the vast majority of cases a teaching assistant) to shadow this work so that it might be extended past the withdrawal of the ELSA. In a small number of cases this was not a popular policy with schools, but it was one which was assertively adhered to. To have not done so – to have allowed ELSAs to work individually with children, with no school staff involvement – would have been to collude with an 'expert' model of intervention that mystifies the work that is done and de-skills school staff in the process.
School ELSAs
Schools received this work extremely positively. Within a year of the start of the ELSAs' work in the city, several schools had put together bids for Standards funding to employ their own ELSA. Funding was only available per project for a year, however a number of schools that received this money elected to continue to employ their ELSA once this period was over (ie, from their own funds). More school ELSAs were employed in this way the following year also, and ever since the number of school ELSAs working in the city has continued to rise. There are now over 70 school ELSAs in Southampton and more than 400 in neighbouring Hampshire (where the project was extended by Sheila Burton, Educational Psychologist).
Reactive verses proactive work
During the first two years of school ELSAs, one factor above others appeared to stand out as a deciding factor in the overall effectiveness of this work: using ELSAs proactively to work with children on timetabled programmes as opposed to using them reactively as a place to send children who were not managing in class. It is easy to see how the notion of a safe and calming person to whom children disrupting lessons could be sent was an appealing one to teachers, however most schools that adopted this approach quickly realised the slippery slope they were on when the first child that was misbehaving with a view to being sent out to the ELSA was spotted. In a small number of cases, using the ELSA in this way became viewed as such a negative strategy it actually led to the provision being discontinued (in one school the ELSA room was publicly 'closed down' and re-opened in a different area when the decision was made to move from reactive to proactive work).
In fact it is unrealistic, given the nature of schools, to expect an ESLA to work proactively for 100 per cent of her timetable; in certain situations her involvement in certain crises could well be a very positive thing (for example, someone for a child to speak to at the end of a bad play time, where a teacher might be too busy getting the class settled for their next lesson). A strong leaning towards proactive work – and, in particular, a refusal to identify the ELSA as the destination of any child sent out of class – did seem to be associated with higher levels of satisfaction with the work overall by senior members of staff in schools, however.
The four roles of the ELSA
The rapid emergence of school ELSAs took the LA a little by surprise in Southampton; although it had always been hoped the ELSA strategy would result in an increased capacity in schools' ability to meet the needs of children with social and emotional difficulties, the sheer speed with which this idea was absorbed into the everyday work of schools was unanticipated. Now, however, there are a number of support mechanisms in place for these workers, including a four day training course run by the Psychology Service, a support network which meets half-termly, an annual conference, published guidelines and ongoing training and support from the original peripatetic ELSAs (now renamed Emotional Well-being Development Officers). Also, in many schools the ELSA is now an important contact for the link EP, who is able to offer additional case-related support through consultation and/or casework supervision.
Nonetheless, the manner in which school ELSAs came to be created – from 'the ground up' rather than as a result of any LA directed model or initiative – has resulted in a quite a varied range of approaches to this provision. Some ELSAs work mostly with individual children, for example, whereas others prefer to work in the main with groups. Some ELSAs work during lesson times, taking their breaks at the same time as other members of staff, whereas others prioritise break times as important periods for them to work in (for example, running a friendship club for children who find the playground difficult). In general this diversity can be celebrated, since it is from such a mix of approaches that genuinely innovative ideas and work can and has been born. It is important not to forget, however, the impact which different agendas across different school organisations can have on work such as this (as borne out by the schools who chose reactive work in the first instance) and therefore a basic and shared understanding of what roles the ELSA has which make her different from other staff in schools is vital. In Southampton, therefore, we assert that ELSA work should incorporate each of the following four roles:
1) Teaching social and emotional skills. Ultimately, the reason for employing an ELSA must be to improve children's emotional well-being; the hypothesis of those of us who promote emotional literacy in schools is that these skills will help a child to achieve this. Therefore, first and foremost the ELSA is a teacher of skills which we would hope would endure long after her involvement. As discussed above, the manner in which these skills are taught can vary greatly from school to school, according to need.
2) Establishing a safe and therapeutic space in which to work with children. ELSAs are not counsellors or therapists, but they do have a counselling role and their sessions should always be therapeutic. In other words, children should feel safe in exploring the world of emotion and feelings with them, should not fear recrimination or mockery, and should enjoy and look forward to their sessions. If these, the 'therapeutic aims' are not achieved, teaching aims will not be achieved either. It is well to remember this, that the welcoming nature of ELSAs and their work is required of their teaching; on more than one occasion I have heard of teachers complaining to ELSAs arriving in a class to collect their next pupil that the child “does not deserve to go out today,” in one case actually barring the child from going!
3) Advocating for the child in liaisons with teachers, parents and other professionals. All ELSAs in Southampton that attend our four day course are taught to view a child's inappropriate behaviour as ultimately an attempt to solve a problem by that child. We regard it as their responsibility to take that step back from the immediate tension of the situation and to try to understand what it is that the child is seeking to achieve through her behaviour, perhaps using supervision from others to help them to do this. Advocating for the child in meetings with others involves presenting this view as part of a solution-focused process; if we can understand what legitimate need the child is trying to meet through her behaviour (for example, to belong in her peer group) we can work on identifying other ways in which this need could be met (for example, through friendship skills work or through a Circle of Friends intervention).
4) Advocating for emotional literacy within the wider organisation. We do not want for school ELSAs to become mysterious 'experts' within individual schools any more than we originally wanted this for peripatetic ELSAs within the city. The emotional literacy 'movement,' as such, has to be as much about the emotional literacy of school staff – and schools as organisations – as it is about the skills of individual children. To successfully create an emotionally literate environment within a school is to achieve on a larger scale exactly that which was articulated in Role 2 above – to create the optimum conditions for social and academic learning. Making emotional literacy the responsibility of just one person does little to advance this aim, however the single ELSA working by herself can still work to promote the aims and ethos of an emotionally literate organisation. The degree to which she is able to do this will depend a great deal on the support she receives from the school leadership team and through her own line management.
Making the difference for individual children
An ELSA's work can be amplified by the ethos of the school she works in if it is a truly inclusive organisation. Inclusion is all about belonging and all too often that problem which children are trying to solve through their behaviour is a problem to do with belonging. A few years ago I witnessed an ELSA in a school I was working in rallying together staff to sing happy birthday to a child whilst the rest of the school were in assembly. She and other staff members had also organised a cake and a present. This was a boy who, it was understood, would receive no such celebration at home that day; the look on his face as they sang to him over lit candles is one I will not forget. By herself this particular ELSA was loved in her work by the children she worked with, but working only by herself would not have brought about an event such as this. It will be the school and its affection towards him that this boy will have missed when he moved on, not the good intentions of a just single person. When we think about the choices young people make later in deciding whether to behave for or against society, is it not so far fetched an idea that memories of moments like this make a crucial difference?