Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA) Training

5 June 2025

We will be beginning training for our next cohort of ELSAs in January 2026.

We are pleased to invite schools to express an interest in securing a place for a member of staff to join the Kent Educational Psychology Service’s Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) Programme.

The Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme, supported by Kent Educational Psychology Service (KEPS), trains school staff to deliver targeted emotional support to pupils. It is not a substitute for specialist mental health services.

School Commitments:

  • Allocate sufficient time and a dedicated space for ELSA work.
  • Select suitable staff for the ELSA training.
  • Ensure ELSAs attend all training and ongoing half-termly supervision with an Educational Psychologist.
  • Provide planning time, a small resource budget, and line management support.
  • Avoid using ELSAs for cover duties that disrupt sessions.
  • Support ELSAs in monitoring and evaluating their impact

Training and supervision:

  • KEPS provides a six-day training course and ongoing supervision once training is completed (two hours per short term).
  • ELSAs must attend ongoing supervision sessions post-training to receive certification and remain on the official register.
  • Supervision is free if agreement terms are upheld.

Intervention Delivery:

  • Interventions typically last six to 12 weeks, with weekly 30 to 60 minute sessions.
  • Sessions include check-ins, targeted activities, and reflection.
  • Programmes must be planned, goal-oriented, and reviewed regularly.

As a service, we know how strongly schools value the ELSA Programme. This is reflected in the high numbers of schools seeking places on the initial ELSA training course each year. Due to the high demand for these training places, which are limited by our current capacity as a service, this year we will be aiming to prioritise places for schools on the basis of need. We hope that this will lead to a fairer distribution of this limited resource.

We will take into consideration:

  • Whether the school has a current ELSA in place
  • Number of pupils with EHCPs or on SEN support
  • Number of pupils qualifying for Pupil Premium.

Please note that the Expression of Interest form will close on Friday 25 July 2025. We will be contacting shortlisted schools in the first term of the new academic year 2025-26.