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Continued Professional Development for ELSAs

Previous thesis research has found that ELSAs that had the highest self-efficacy beliefs for working with children had the greatest impact on the emotional self-efficacy beliefs of the children that they worked with (Grahamslaw, 2010). It was found that ELSAs that had protected time to plan their work and to attend refresher training days and/or Continued Professional Development (CPD) had significantly higher self-efficacy beliefs for working with children compared to ELSAs that did not. This research highlights the importance of further training for ELSAs, after their initial ELSA training, which is why, at Psychology First, we are committed to providing high quality CPD events for ELSAs.

In June 2022 Psychology First ran our first ELSA conference focusing on the theme of ‘Resilience and Recovery’ following the Covid 19 pandemic.

In April 2023, we facilitated a CPD day on ‘Supporting Children and Young People’s Mental Health.’

In April 2024, we ran a CPD Day on ‘Understanding Anxiety: How to Support Children and Young People Struggling to Manage this Emotion in Schools.’

Feedback on our CPD events from our ELSAs can be found below.

  • Thank you so much for a wonderful ELSA CPD Day! As always, I have come away feeling inspired and full of new information to take into school. Laura and Chantelle, you are both such good communicators and your passion shines through. I may have trouble sleeping tonight as the day spins around my head!

  • What a fantastic ELSA Conference! It exceeded my expectations. I was really engaged listening to the speakers, and I thoroughly enjoyed the two workshops. It was great to meet other ELSAs as I work in a stand-alone ELSA role. There was a real buzz about the day, and I feel very re-energised by it! Thank you so much to all involved. It all came together so well!

  • The ELSA CPD Day gave me a wealth of information which I will find so helpful in my role. Thank you so much Laura and Chantelle for an amazing day! The Making Sense of Anxiety session was a really good in-depth session. I really liked the idea of though challenging as a strategy, I will definitely use this! I am also going to make a display in my room using The Healthy Mind Platter!

  • A huge thank you for such an informative and interesting ELSA CPD Day. I gained so much from it and found you both so great to listen to. The whole event had been so well thought through. Looking forward to future days like these!

  • I really enjoyed the ELSA CPD day, and it is fantastic to have the opportunity for some on-going training since my initial ELSA training course, so thank you Laura and Chantelle! I really enjoyed learning about Selective Mutism in more depth and I found it really interesting to hear that it is a phobia, I will certainly use the ‘pep talk’ with my students, and I also really liked the analogy of anxiety being a wave and riding the anxiety wave.

  • This was a really well-structured and brilliantly presented CPD Day that was very useful for my ELSA practise. The Psychology First Team always boost my confidence when dealing with children with complex needs, and I always feel assured that I have their support as a safety net if I should need it. I have taken away new understandings, personal thoughts and ideas around all the subjects and themes presented today.

  • I always look forward to, and really enjoy, the Psychology First CPD events! Both Laura and Chantelle are so engaging, and they have a wealth of knowledge and experience that they are keen to share. They are so passionate about the ELSA project, and that really shines through! The Eating Disorders session was a really good ‘beginners guide.’ I definitely have a clearer understanding now of what to look out for; reasons why, and where to signpost students and families for further support.

  • I enjoyed hearing Dr Tina Rae speak. Looking back, the thing that stands out in my mind is the importance of ‘recharging’. I’m a big one for reflecting, but I don’t always give myself the time to recharge. I look around me and see that others also forget about the importance of recharging. I will be encouraging this in those I work with—both adults and children.

  • The ‘Suicide Prevention and Postvention’ session obviously covered a difficult subject, but it was extremely well presented and was handled sensitively and professionally. It was a really relevant and informative session. The word entrapment is hugely impactful, and the fact that it is ok and important to talk about suicide is another huge take away! I will always try and remember the importance of asking, “are you okay?”

  • Tree of Life - I loved this workshop! I came away with lots of ideas for using the approach and with several children in mind that I will use this with. I especially appreciated the opportunity to do the intervention myself as I believe this helped me feel ready to deliver it to children.

  • The session about ‘Supporting Trans and Non-Binary Pupils’ gave me a lot to think about and was really helpful in understanding all of the terminology, and some of the complexities and controversy in this area. The session gave a good reminder about going back to the foundations of authentic practice in terms of building a safe space and trusting relationships in school. I am going to keep in mind how being curious, kind and interested works well in school.

  • Understanding self-harm - Excellent workshop! Informative and reassuring regarding the challenges we are facing. Clear guidelines on our roles and responsibilities. I was engaged the whole time.

  • The ‘Sleep and Mental Health’ session was fascinating and very useful for my work in school, especially the information about the science of sleep. The session gave really good teaching and clarification around how sleep routines can impact on children and young people’s energy levels, their learning and subsequent behaviour. I learnt so much in this session, and there were some very useful Sleep Hygiene ideas that I will use at home for myself and my family!

  • I think this is an important day in an ELSA’s year to meet up, chat over experiences and enjoy. It’s made even better by the skill and knowledge of the presenters. Thank you!

  • Externalising feelings - This was fantastic!!!!! Really engaging, great balance of theory and strategies to use. Would have loved even more time for this workshop as I found it SO useful!