Why does Southampton need an ELSA register?
EL and the valuable work of ELSAs is something which Southampton Psychology Service is extremely proud of. It encompasses the following four roles:
1) Teaching social and emotional skills.
2) Providing safe and therapeutic learning experiences.
3) Advocating for the children they work with.
4) Advocating for emotional literacy in the settings they work in.
In recent years, we have become increasingly aware of the need to define clearly the boundaries of what is and what is not ELSA work (hence the four roles above) and what constitutes good practice within this. A key part of this strategy has been increasing the contact that school ELSAs have with the local authority and EL Lead EPs via their continuing professional development activity.
Following a review of ELSA supervision and ELSA networks (downloadable here), a centralised package of support was launched in 2023 - FuEL (Fill Up Emotional Literacy). These termly in-person sessions comprise 3 core aspects of personal development for ELSAs:
Connect = Networking with other ELSAs (including access to resources that can be borrowed)
Reflect = EP led supervision using a set model and small groups (8-12)
Grow = EP led spot-light training on EL related area (complete with a 'take away' resource)
Together with our annual EL conference, actively engaging in FuEL sessions supports ELSAs to invest in their ongoing development, to support the development of fellow ELSAs, and to contribute to EL development across our city.
Feedback is sought and considered on an annual basis by our EL Development Team (comprising both EPs and ELSA reps). Further developments are made as required to help ensure that our core package of support continues to meet the needs of the highly skilled and valuable ELSAs working across our city.
The ELSA register is a list of ELSAs who the authority has confidence are working in the ELSA role and have accessed appropriate CPD (including regular supervision) to support them in their roles.
What do I need to do in order to become registered?
You need to:
A) have attended a recognised ELSA Initial Training course (usually 5 or 6 days long),
B) be able to show us that you work as an ELSA for at least half a day per week,
C) have accumulated at least six (6) 'ELSA Credits' since the beginning of the academic year, including activities across all three key areas of professional development (Networking, Supervision, Training), and
D) Undertaken relevant Child Protection training (in line with setting requirements)
To show us that you satisfy these requirements, you need to complete and submit an ELSA Registration application form. You can download the form from the Registration page. Information about ELSA Credits can also be found on the same page.
Details of the upcoming EL CPD events will be circulated to our email distribution list and will also be displayed on our Calendar.
Information about past and future EL conferences can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/sotonelconference/
Where do I collect my ELSA Credit from at the end of a training activity?
Don't worry - ELSA Credits are not physical things you need to pick up. When you complete your application form there will be space for you to list the activities you've undertaken since the start of the school year. We will then check this against our own register of attendees, so do make sure you sign in on the register at every session you go to.
PLEASE NOTE: Completing a 'reflective learning log' can help you to think about and apply what you have learned from training events. This can extend shorter activities (such as EL specific podcasts / webinars) to make them worth additional ELSA Credits (see Registration page for details).
The 2025 Registration Form contains an example log, with some initial prompts to help - a further 'fillable' Reflective Learning Log proforma is also available for download.
How do I show evidence that I'm working for at least a half day per week as an ELSA?
As part of your application form you will be asked to attach a sample weekly timetable with work within the ELSA role clearly highlighted. Alternatively, together with your line manager, you can write a short supporting statement to outline how your time as an ELSA is being used and how this connects with the 4 roles noted above. Please ensure any evidence is anonymised (i.e., no children's names should feature on it).
Is there any way in which our school can buy in training from the service in order to get additional credits?
Southampton Psychology Service is happy to negotiate a bespoke training package for ELSAs in a school as part of its traded services agreement. Further activities that specifically focus on improving EL provision within your setting or more widely may also be considered appropriate professional development to earn ELSA credits (please contact us to discuss this).
Between my last application for registration and the end of the school year, I took part in extra training activities. Can I count these towards my next application?
The purpose of the register is to ensure that ELSAs plan for and undertake a minimum level of professional development opportunities each year, not as a 'banking' system. All activities listed on your application form, therefore, should have taken place during or since the previous September.
I am not on the ELSA register and will not be able to satisfy the requirements for it. Can I still call myself an ELSA?
Southampton Psychology Service is not in a position to tell schools what titles they can use for their support staff. As an local authority, however, we will only recognise as ELSAs those people who are listed on our register.
If ELSAs have not been able to gained sufficient ELSA Credits (or have not met the other criteria), it will be important for direct and joint commitment to be made by both the ELSA and their setting/line manager to protect time for them to pro-actively engage in suitable activities in the year ahead to regain their registration. Access to EP led supervision (Reflect) should be a key priority in this.
What's in it for me as an ELSA to be registered?
Achieving registration as an ELSA will be something you can add to your CV as evidence of progression within your job. All registered ELSAs will receive a certificate of registration, which we encourage to be displayed and celebrated within your setting.
What's in it for us as a setting for our ELSAs to be registered?
ELSA registration is evidence of an investment being made by the setting in the mental health and emotional wellbeing of your children and can be presented as evidence to OFSTED or other certificating organisations. Having well supported ELSAs who are positively engaged in deepening and developing their knowledge and skills is also of clear benefit to your students and setting more widely. ELSA work not only supports individual young people, but can also help towards developing a positive ethos at a whole school level. Understanding, utilising and supporting the skills of ELSAs in your setting will help increase the positive impact they can have.
Where possible, we try to provide 'special offer' discounts for settings or trusts who employ and support multiple ELSAs - please see our 'Ongoing Support for ELSAs - SLA Information' document and reach out to discuss this further.
What if I have lost my initial ELSA training certificate?
We do have fairly detailed records of attendance for the initial training course in Southampton going back several years. Whilst we would prefer to see a certificate, we can consult these and other sources of information if necessary. We do not have access to any information of this type on non-Southampton initial training courses (e.g., Hampshire / Portsmouth / Dorset), however, so certificates are our only way of verifying your attendance on this training.
If I haven't yet attended the initial ELSA training course, can I still come to CPD events (e.g., out of professional interest)?
Yes. Southampton Psychology Service training events are open to a wide range of adults who work with children and young people. Attendance to our FuEL sessions are restricted to ELSAs and Trainee ELSAs (i.e., those either currently completing or registered on an ELSA Initial Training course)
What is the difference between FuEL Reflect meetings and purchased supervision?
As a core element of our FuEL model, ELSAs access structured supervision facilitated by an Educational Psychologist. These run on a termly basis (3 sessions over the year) with group sizes that limits the number of participants and helps to develop a safe and trusting environment between ELSAs and the supervisor/s. The number of ELSAs attending is approximately 8 - 12 participants, with participants coming from a variety of different settings.
Although there is no guarantee that everyone's cases will be discussed, our experiences is that all ELSAs will benefit from attending when they engage in the discussions (e.g., from sharing experiences and ideas related to another ELSA’s case). We hold that such spaces create direct and indirect learning and support, with ELSAs benefiting from hearing and contributing differing perspectives and experiences, centred around shared core elements (such as the 5 dimensions of EL, the 4 roles of an ELSA, and universal psychological principles).
There is a small cost to access this system (£150/ELSA - equalent to 0.25 EP days for the whole year), which also gives access to Connect (networking) and Grow (Training) aspects of CPD, as well as a 'resource share' system (please see the 'Keeping Going...' section of our Key Documents page). NEW for 2025 we are also introducing 'remote reflect' sessions - additional on-line supervision sessions to increase the ease and frequency of access to EP support for ELSAs. These will run in the alternative half-term to FuEL and be bookable 2 weeks in advance.
Access to FuEL can be purchased at the start of the academic year or as part of SLA arrangements. Please contact us for more details.
Purchased or bespoke EP supervision may still count towards ELSA Credits (please details within the Registration page). However, this can be more expensive and would involve an Educational Psychologist visiting your school for up to half day per supervision session. This does give a setting the opportunity to arrange for their ELSA or ELSAs to have a supervision session focused more closely on their own casework, but reduces their contact with other ELSAs who may be able to understand, empathise, and advise.
Guidance on preparing for ELSA supervision can be found in our Key Documents page.
Can two or more settings get together to jointly purchase EP supervision for their ELSAs?
Yes. We are keen to support trusts and clusters whereever possible. Please reach out to discuss further.
My ELSA register application has been turned down. Does this mean I am not able to re-apply for a whole year?
Not necessarily. The great majority of applications we have turned down are due to very simple things like not receiving a timetable as evidence of a half day per week ELSA work (or the timetable if submitted not being clear which sessions are ELSA related sessions). If you are able to rectify this quickly, please send us your application again with the necessary evidence and we will try to process it as soon as possible. We are happy to work with you and support this process.