ELSA Intervention at Harbour Vale School 
We are fortunate enough to have ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants) who both have a wealth of experience of working with young people. Our ELSAs, are trained and regularly supported by our local authority Educational Psychologist.
The aim of the ELSA is to help the young people they work with feel happy in school and to reach their potential socially, emotionally and academically. ELSAs understand the barriers to learning that some young people might have and help them with this. Relationships are key in helping our students to feel safe and nurtured and this relational approach is one of our fundamental principles as we continue to create a reflective and therapeutic space for all at Harbour Vale School.
The areas that an ELSA can help a young person with, are emotional literacy, self-esteem, social skills, friendship issues, managing strong feelings, anxiety, bullying, emotional regulation, growth mindset and problem solving. ELSA is usually a short-term focus intervention with clear aims and lasts between six to twelve weeks. SMART targets are set when a young person begins ELSA and these make the intervention specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time limited. These enable us to monitor progress made and to help us to know how successful the intervention has been.