About Everyday ELSA
Real resources, from a real classroom
Hi, I'm Clare. I'm an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) working in a UK primary school, and I've been doing this work for a number of years. I love it — but I'll be honest: when I started, finding good, ready-to-use resources was a real challenge.
So I started making my own. And once I'd made them, I realised other ELSAs might find them useful too. That's how Everyday ELSA was born.
What is an ELSA?
An Emotional Literacy Support Assistant is a teaching assistant who has been specially trained by an educational psychologist to understand and support children's emotional needs. ELSAs work in primary (and sometimes secondary) schools across the UK, delivering one-to-one and small-group sessions with children who need extra support.
Topics we cover include anxiety and worry, friendships, self-esteem, anger management, bereavement, and transitions — as well as general emotional literacy work to help children identify and express their feelings.
How these resources are made
Every resource on this site starts with a real need I've identified in my ELSA sessions. I design, write, and illustrate everything myself — and then I test it with real children before it's published.
If an activity doesn't land well, I refine it. If children find the language confusing, I simplify it. What you download is the version that's been through that process — not a first draft.
Resources are published as PDF files, designed to be printed or used on a tablet. They're fully editable where that's useful, and designed to be accessible for primary-age children.
My promise to you
- Every resource is classroom-tested before publishing
- Free resources are always available — this will never change
- New resources are added regularly, based on what ELSAs need
- If a resource isn't working for you, just get in touch