Like most websites we use cookies. In order to deliver a personalised, responsive service and to improve the site, we remember and store information about how you use it. This is done using simple text files called cookies that sit on your computer. These cookies are completely safe and secure and will never contain any sensitive information. They are used only by us.
Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) Training (VAT Exempt)
What is an ELSA?
ELSAs are teaching assistants and pastoral support staff who have received specific training from Educational Psychologists to help them plan and deliver programmes of support to pupils who are experiencing temporary or longer-term emotional needs. Programmes can be delivered one to one or within small groups and might cover a variety of areas. ELSA’s work across both primary and secondary age ranges.
The ELSA project is based on the principle that emotional difficulties can create a barrier to learning. Increasing the capacity of school staff to identify pupil needs and provide appropriate interventions, within the context of a safe and supportive relationship, will help to improve pupils’ mental health and wellbeing and enhance their ability to access learning in school.
ELSA’s receive regular group supervision from an Educational Psychologist to provide ongoing support and development, and to maintain ELSA status.
The ELSA project is nationally recognised, for more information, visit: ELSA Network – Emotional Literacy Support Assistants
Course Overview:
- Day 1 – Introduction to ELSA and emotional literacy, Therapeutic skills: Active listening and reflective conversations; Connections
- Day 2 – Building resilience & self-esteem: Attachment and relationships, self-identity; Referrals
- Day 3 – Emotional awareness and regulation; Introduction to ELSA with line managers
- Day 4 – Managing emotions (anger and anxiety); Neurodivergence and emotional wellbeing; Belonging and friendships
- Day 5 – Loss and bereavement; Therapeutic stories, social stories
- Day 6 – Supporting Change; Outcome setting and planning
This course will train delegates to become ELSAs and to deliver ELSA interventions in their school. The course includes 6 days of training across the Autumn/Spring term and the first 2 sessions of EP supervision. The expectation of schools is that they will make available the time and resources that their ELSA needs to enable their ongoing work.
Dates and Times
- Day 1: Thursday 29 October 2026
- Day 2: Thursday 19 November 2026
- Day 3: Thursday 10 December 2026
- Day 4: Thursday 14 January 2027
- Day 5: Wednesday 3 February 2027
- Day 6: Thursday 4 March 2027
All sessions will run 9:30am to 4:00pm
Venue: New Parks House, Pindar Road, Leicester, LE3 9RN
Cost: £600 per delegate
Two supervision sessions are included in the training costs, then ongoing supervision will be required to gain and maintain ELSA status (at an additional cost).
£600.00
ELSA Supervisions 2026-27 (VAT Exempt)
Session details:
6 sessions of supervision, 1 per half term, sessions will be 2 hours.
Requirements:
ELSAs are expected to attend all supervision sessions (unless there are extenuating circumstances such as illness). Attendance at supervision is required to maintain ELSA status which allows use of the ELSA title. A register of accredited ELSAs will be maintained by the City Psychology Service
Venue:
New Parks House, Pindar Road, Leicester, LE3 9RN
Cost: £300
Dates for supervisions will be confirmed. The date shown is just to enable the payment link to sign up for the ELSA Supervisions
£300.00
Team Teach - Level 1 Positive Behaviour Management 6 hour (VAT Exempt)
Dates:
Friday 2nd October 2026
Thursday 3rd December 2026
Thursday 21st January 2027
Wednesday 3rd March 2027
Wednesday 19th May 2027
Time: 9:00am – 3:30pm
Who is this course for: Anyone member of staff or leadership team working with dysregulated children who wish to learn effective de-escalation skills and ways of working safely with the children.
Fee: £180
Venue(s): New Parks House, Pindar Road, Leicester, LE3 9RN
Areas Covered:
•Training in Positive Handling Strategies through a whole school holistic approach, ensuring increased understanding and ability to manage difficult and sometimes disturbing behaviour.
•Team Teach aims to reduce risk using de-escalation and diversion, exploring the possible reasons for challenging behaviour.
•Focus on support and safety for both children and staff.
•The course is interactive both in discussions and practice of physical techniques.
•A focus on restorative practice and post incident Support.
•Understanding of what the law says about Restrictive Physical Intervention, recording, reporting, and monitoring.
Course Outcomes:
•Participants will gain a nationally accredited certificate.
•Increased knowledge, understanding and skills around challenging behaviour.
•Participants will gain the ability to utilise safe and basic physical interventions.
This course will be delivered by the SEMH Team.
**Please note that by booking onto and completing this course, you are also committing to an annual subscription to Team Teach Connect resources and services. This is a cost per establishment (as per Team Teach business terms and conditions) in addition to the price of this course. This will be invoiced separately and direct by Team Teach after the course. A copy of the T&C and more details can be provided by emailing team.teachenquiries@leicester.gov.uk.
£180.00
Team Teach – Level 2 Positive Behaviour Management 12 hour (VAT Exempt)
Dates:
- Thursday 8th & Friday 9th October 2026
- Thursday 25th & Friday 26th February 2027
Who is it for? – This two-day course is for any members of staff or leadership team working with complex dysregulated children who wish to learn effective de-escalation skills and ways of working safely with the children that may require two persons.
Fee: £275
Venue: New Parks House, Pindar Road, Leicester, LE3 9RN
Areas Covered: -
- Training in Positive Handling Strategies through a whole school holistic approach, ensuring increased understanding and ability to manage difficult , complex and sometimes challenging behaviours.
-
Team Teach aims to reduce risk using de-escalation and diversion, exploring the possible reasons for challenging behaviour.
-
Focus on support and safety for both children and staff.
-
The course is interactive both in discussions and practice of physical techniques including two person holds.
-
A focus on restorative practice and post incident support.
-
Understanding of what the law says about Restrictive Physical Intervention, recording, reporting, and monitoring.
Course Outcomes: -
- Participants will gain a nationally accredited certificate.
- Increased knowledge, understanding and skills around challenging behaviour.
- Participants will gain the ability to utilise safe and Level 2 physical interventions.
Alternatively, this course can be delivered in your primary school/setting. Please discuss this with your SEMH link teacher or email team.teachenquiries@leicester.gov.uk
Venue: New Parks House, Pindar Road, Leicester, LE3 9RN
**Please note that by booking onto and completing this course, you are also committing to an annual subscription to Team Teach Connect resources and services. This is a cost per establishment (as per Team Teach business terms and conditions) in addition to the price of this course. This will be invoiced separately and direct by Team Teach after the course. A copy of the T&C and more details can be provided by emailing team.teachenquiries@leicester.gov.uk.
£275.00
Nurturing Practices and Understanding the Boxall Profile (VAT Exempt)
Dates: Monday 26th October 2026
Times: 09:00am - 16:00pm
Fee: £80
Venue: Training Room G.3, New Parks House, Pindar Road, Leicester. LE3 9RN
Who is this course for: School leadership, SENDCos, staff leading and working in school Nurture Groups (teachers, mentors, and support staff).
Areas Covered:
•Background and history to nurture groups.
•An introduction to Attachment Theory.
•The importance of play.
•Practical nurturing Ideas.
•Risk and resilience factors for children.
•Assessment tools and monitoring for children with social, emotional, and mental health needs.
•Using the Boxall Profile.
•Practical applications for supporting children with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Course Outcomes:
•To understand and use the Boxall Profile as a tool for supporting children with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH).
•To gain practical ideas for using with children with SEMH needs.
•To develop an understanding of nurturing practices and nurture group provision within Schools.
•To gain practical ideas for use within a Nurture Group Setting.
This course will be delivered by the SEMH Team.
£80.00
Restorative Approaches in Schools (VAT Exempt)
Restorative Approaches in Schools
Dates: - (Three Day Course) (delegates must attend all dates):
- Thursday 19th November 2026
- Wednesday 20th January 2027
- Thursday 18th March 2027
Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm for all dates
Fee: £660 for 3 people (3rd delegate place is free) otherwise £330 per person.
Venue: New Parks House, Pindar Road, Leicester, LE3 9RN
Who is this course for: SENDCos, Teachers, Mentors and Support Staff.
Areas Covered:
•What is conflict and how does it affect us? Can it ever be good?
•What are the 4 main ways of resolving conflict and how effective are these?
•Why Restorative Practices? What are the benefits?
•Using practical, mediator skills under the restorative model to solve challenge situations.
•Using the restorative model to hold a mediating conference between 2 or more parties.
•How we can apply this to the wider school setting and develop a restorative school.
Course Outcomes:
•To understand the needs of individuals who are harmed and require support.
•See the effects of harm from different perspectives and the effectiveness of Restorative Approaches as a primary response to conflict.
•Be confident in applying the restorative model to help restore relationships for all people within our school communities.
•Use specific techniques in restorative mediation, when helping people recover from harm.
•Use the wider principles of Restorative Approaches to foster a whole-school Restorative Approach.
This course will be delivered by the SEMH Team.
£330.00
Do You Feel What I Feel? How to Emotionally Contain and Regulate Ourselves and Others (VAT Exempt)
Dates: Tuesday 9th March 2027
Times: 09:00am - 16:00pm
Fee: £80
Venue: New Parks House, Pindar Road, Leicester, LE3 9RN
Who is this course for: SENDCos, Teachers Mentors and Support Staff.
Will be run via Microsoft Teams if face to face not possible.
•The differences between self-, co- and social-regulation and dysregulation and how they manifest.
•How we can use co- and social-regulation to help children to learn to tolerate sensations, situations and distress whilst forming appropriate responses.
•Developmental stages of self- and co-regulation and their role in understanding and managing behaviours, reactions to feelings and the things happening in the world around you.
•Why the developmental process may have been hindered. (including neuroscience).
•Practical ideas for resources (i.e. sensory breaks, regulatory toolkits, supportive scripts, steps to take to build self-regulatory capacity in others).
Course Outcomes:
•To reflect on our own self-regulatory capacity and how these impacts on those around us.
•To understand that when others become dysregulated and cannot regulate their own emotions, we can contain them through co-regulation and development of self; in doing this we can help them to learn to tolerate sensations, situations and distress whilst forming appropriate responses and over time develop their capacity for self-regulation.
•To consider the developmental stages of co- and self-regulation and their role in understanding and managing behaviours, reactions to feelings and the things happening in the world around us, and to consider why this process might be hindered.
•To explore resources and develop ideas for co/self-regulation (i.e. sensory breaks, regulatory toolkits, supportive scripts, steps to take to build self-regulatory capacity in others).
This course will be delivered by the SEMH Team.