Support for Emotional & Social Development
Promoting and supporting a child’s emotional and social development is of the utmost importance to us at Lumley Primary Federation. The whole school works together to make sure that children are given the tools to develop positive self-esteem, an understanding of their emotions and healthy relationships. For those children who may have an emotional or social need, we have several systems in place so that these needs can be met effectively. The support we provide is individualised to the child in order to meet those specific needs.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education and Relationship and Health Education (RSE)
As well the daily pastoral and social support provided by teachers and staff, PSHE is taught to all children on a weekly basis. These lessons focus on promoting positive behaviour, mental health, wellbeing and resilience.
ELSA
At Lumley Primary Federation we have two staff members who are trained in the ELSA intervention. An ELSA in an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. Staff members have attended a recognised training course and are regularly supervised by Educational Psychologists. ELSAs provide short term focused interventions with clear aims. ELSAs can provide support to children for a range of areas such as:
- Loss and bereavement
- Emotional Literacy
- Self-esteem
- Social Skills
- Friendship issues
- Relationships
- Managing strong feelings
- Anxiety and worries
- Bullying
- Conflict
- Emotional Regulation
- Growth Mindset
- Social and therapeutic stories
- Problem solving
If staff feel that a child would benefit from working with an ELSA, this would be discussed with the class teacher and any staff who work with the child, the SENCO and the parents or carers.
Social Stories
A social story is a simple story that describes a social situation and provides literal and concrete information about the appropriate way to act. They can explain social cues and expectations, help with routines and changes and help children to manage emotions.
Social stories are written from the individual’s perspective and are written in simple language and supported by pictures. They focus on answering questions about different scenarios such as who, what, when, where, why and how.
Social stories can also help to provide children with alternative perspectives and develop their understanding of how others might behave or feel in a situation. As a result, they can support children in understanding perspectives other than their own.
Lego® Therapy
Lego® therapy is an evidence based approach aimed at developing children’s social communication skills. It is a programme for children with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and other social communication difficulties. Children work together to build Lego® models giving them the opportunity to develop social skills such as turn taking, team work, listening and collaborative problem solving. Each session, children are assigned a role and given a specific job to do. Typically, the roles are the engineer (gives the instructions), the supplier (provides the pieces) and the builder (puts the pieces together). The children work together to build a given model and must stick to their role. If disagreements arise, the children are encouraged to work collaboratively to find the solution. The adult’s role is to act as a facilitator, setting ground rules and guiding the process, but in this approach the children are responsible for driving the activity.
Connecting with Children
Connecting with Children is a local evidence based support programme to support children in a school setting. It aims to create time and space on a weekly basis for the young person to:
- engage in creative activities that support them to recognise their thoughts, feelings and behaviour
- learn to communicate about these in more positive ways
- start to develop a healthier sense of who they are
- start to engage better in school, and make the most of their opportunities
Relax Kids
Relax Kids uses research-based mindful and relaxation techniques alongside values and positive psychology (positivity, strength-building, gratitude, resilience and compassion) to help support children’s emotional health and wellbeing. The sessions can be delivered in both a whole class and small group setting.
Therapeutic Story Writing
Therapeutic Storywriting Groups use the metaphor in stories to support children whose emotional and behavioural difficulties are affecting their ability to learn. It offers children the opportunity to express themselves through their own stories and understand some of their own emotional experiences.
Elklan
Elklan is a support programme which helps staff to provide effective support to children with speech, language and communication needs by training staff to:
- understand the difficulties some children face when speaking and listening to others
- modify their interactions with children
- adapt the way they speak to children so they can understand more of what is being said
- use modelling to encourage talking
Sensory Space
In both schools, we have sensory spaces for children. The aim of the space is to create a calm and safe area for children to access with an adult when they need time to relax and regulate their emotions and reactions to external stimuli.
Buddy System and Playground Leaders
During playtimes and lunchtimes at Lumley Junior School, we have a buddy system in order to support children who may struggle during these unstructured times. Children from Year 5 and 6 volunteer to be buddies and offer support to all children who may need help developing their friendships and joining in with games and activities. Children also have the opportunity to train with the Durham and Chester le Street SSP as playground leaders. At the end of this training, leaders are able to provide opportunities for all children to take part in structured games and activities during playtime and lunchtime.
