WellBEing:

a good condition of existence; a state characterized by health, happiness, and prosperity; welfare

'BE not DO'

We all have busy lives and are always on the go DOing things. This can be at school, home or out and about!

For our ‘WellBEing’ we need to sometimes just ‘BE’!

These are the sentiments of Reverend Margaret Marsh (Maggie) who served both the local community and our school so well for many years. She helped us support build the concept of WellBEing in our school. We aim to build in time to just 'BE' and currently have a member of staff training in Mindfulness for Primary Aged Children.

In addition to WellBEing in the classroom we have been lucky enough to have funds donated by Kennedys' Independent Property Agents to allow us to build a specific 'WellBEing POD' for children to use during break times, lunchtimes or at other times of the day when they need some time just to 'BE'.

At Walton on the Hill Primary School not only do we value your child's education but also their welfare and WellBEing. At some time in our lives we all experience difficulties and unfortunately children are not immune to the same problems adults encounter.  At the school we recognise the need to support your child through these difficult periods in their lives. To support children we have developed the role of an Emotional literacy support assistant or ELSA. These are teaching assistants trained to provide emotional and social skills support to children  Our ELSA, Mrs Tracey Cooper, has been trained by Surrey Education Child Psychologists to support children with some of the challenges that they may face while with us at the school.  

What is emotional literacy?

• Understanding and coping with the feelings of ourselves and others
• Developing high self-esteem and positive interactions with others
• Being emotionally literate helps children focus better on their learning

What kind of things can an ELSA help with?

• Bereavement including that of family pets and adults who were important to the child
• Children living with lifelong conditions who feel frustrated or unhappy with how this impacts on them
• Children experiencing problems coping with anger or who feel subdued and withdrawn
• Children whose parents are living with serious illness which impacts on the family
• Children whose parents are serving in the armed forces struggling to cope with separation
• Children whose parents separate or divorce and find it difficult to cope with the changes this brings
• Children with low self-esteem

How does ELSA work?

• A regular slot during the school week
• In a quiet/private area – usually our WellBEing POD
• Sessions can be individual or in a small group, tailored to the child’s needs
• Sessions are fun and might include role-play, puppets, board games, art and crafts and stories
• They may include therapeutic storytelling

The support is delivered in a caring, supportive and fun way.  Tracey will help children find ways to cope with their challenges by helping them build the skills that will help them be able to cope and work through the problems.