Learning objectives or targets for ELSA work

This will be an ongoing blog post to write down as many learning objectives as possible linked to areas covered by ELSA. If you have any you want included then please do comment below the post.

To find out how to use these  ‘I’ statements as SMART targets please refer to our blog post on this. WHO, WHAT, WHEN. You can then personalise these objectives to the pupil you are working with. I do think that sometimes we overthink things and need to remember that children only need to make small steps, so our planning needs to be in small steps too. What can they do at the end of the lesson that they couldn’t do at the beginning? This list as it stands will also help you to plan a lesson.

I will try to link some of the objectives to resources on the website. Please be mindful that we have many more and they are just suggestions. We have resources for most age groups. The links will show up in orange. Just click to take you to the resource.

We also have a resources for planning and listing SMART targets. Click the images to take you there.

Self-esteem and about me/self

I have linked the targets to resources where possible. Please be mindful that there are many more resources on the website that could be used for each target. We have resources for many age groups from EYFS to Secondary. Also some targets are more about the conversations you would have with a child during your sessions. They might be things you discuss or act out together. They don’t need a dedicated resource.

• I accept myself for who and what I am
• I can tell you the things I like doing and the things I don’t like doing.
• I can talk about feeling proud
• I can tell you about my strengths and talents
• I can tell you about things I am good at
• I can stand up for myself if I need to
• I know when I should stand up for myself
• I can choose to act assertively
• I can recognize when something is difficult and can talk about how it makes me feel
• I feel like I belong somewhere such as my family, my class, my school or a club I attend
• I can find ways to overcome difficulties I might face
• I know of different ways to act assertively
• I know how to disagree with someone without falling out
• I have coping strategies if someone disagrees with me
• I can use the appropriate body language and tone of voice when acting assertively
• I can tell you something special about me
• I know that some people in my class or group do like me
• I know that everyone is different in appearance and character
• I can point out things that are the same and things that are different between me and my friends
• I know of ways to help someone feel welcome
• I know my strengths and can tell you how I feel about them
• I can give a compliment to someone
• I am happy to receive a compliment
• I can accept constructive criticism
• I can set small goals for myself
• I can persevere with a task that is difficult
• I know that mistakes can help me to learn
• I am happy to try new things
• I can talk about something I want to do better
• I can give myself a compliment and say what I like about me
• I can tell you how I feel when I help someone
• I can use self care to take care of my wellbeing
• I feel confident to ask someone for help
• I feel confident joining in a game on the playground
• I feel confident putting my hand up in class
• I can talk about how I feel when things change
• I know how to be responsible in class
• I can speak confidently in front of others
• I feel confident coming into school and leaving my parent or carer
• I feel confident when the teacher asks me to do a job in class or school
• I can talk about feeling inspired by other people’s successes
• I can be motivated to achieve a goal
• I know how to solve a problem
• I can use affirmations each day and start to believe how amazing I am
• I can tell you some things that boost my self esteem
• I can tell you some things that decrease my self esteem
• I can use affirmations to help raise my self esteem

Some resources for Self-esteem, we do have many many more- Please click the pictures to have a closer look.

Emotional Intelligence

I have linked the targets to resources where possible. Please be mindful that there are many more resources on the website that could be used for each target. We have resources for many age groups from EYFS to Secondary. Also some targets are more about the conversations you would have with a child during your sessions. They might be things you discuss or act out together. They don’t need a dedicated resource.

• I can recognise different facial expressions
• I can label different facial expressions and give each one a name
• I can show how I feel with my own facial expression
• I can draw different facial expressions
• I can match facial expressions to the appropriate word
• I can name at least 10 feeling words
• I can give at least one synonym of an emotion
• I can use the correct facial expression appropriate to the situation I am in
• I can talk about times when I have felt different emotions
• I can explain how some emotions feel in my body
• I can describe the sensations in my body linked to emotion
• I can use the correct tone of voice appropriate to the emotion I have
• I understand how I can have mixed feelings
• I know I can show my feelings in different ways
• I can tell you what feeling happy means and give an example of when I feel happy *Change the feeling word
• I can scale a feeling and tell you how big or how small it is
• I understand how my thoughts can affect my feelings
• I understand that other people have feelings
• I can recognise when someone is feeling sad *Change the feeling word
• I know how to help someone who is feeling sad *Change the feeling word
• I know how to help myself when I have difficult feelings
• I know that all feelings are ok
• I know that feelings have a purpose
• I understand that sometimes the feeling part of my brain takes over and I might make mistakes
• I can understand how strong feelings might build up and I might feel overwhelmed
• I can recognise when I am beginning to feel overwhelmed by my feelings
• I know some calming strategies that might help me when I feel overwhelmed
• I know how important it is to stop and think before I act on my feelings
• I know how important relaxation is and know some ways to relax my body
• I can ask for help if I am feeling overwhelmed by my feelings
• I can understand how my words or actions might hurt others
• I can understand how other people might show their feelings in a different way to me

Some resources for emotions work, we do have many many more- Please click the pictures to have a closer look.

Anxiety and worries

I have linked the targets to resources where possible. Please be mindful that there are many more resources on the website that could be used for each target. We have resources for many age groups from EYFS to Secondary. Also some targets are more about the conversations you would have with a child during your sessions. They might be things you discuss or act out together. They don’t need a dedicated resource.

• I can talk about my worries
• I understand what it means to feel worried
• I can tell you about some times when I felt worried
• I understand that everyone feels worried sometimes and that is normal
• I understand that worries can make my body feel uncomfortable
• I understand that my body feelings are a way of protecting me
• I can describe some of the body feelings I get when I feel worried or anxious
• I know some other words to describe worry feelings such as nervous, jittery, afraid, apprehensive *change the words as necessary to suit the pupil
• I know what the fight flight response to anxiety is
• I can tell you whether my worry is a big worry or small worry
• I can scale my worry from 1 to 5(or what ever the scaling system is you use in school)
• I understand that some worries are in my control and others are not in my control
• I can sort my worries between things that are in my control and things that are not in my control
• I understand how my thoughts can affect how I am feeling
• I know some ways of how to let go of worries that are not in my control
• I know how to make a plan to deal with my worries
• I understand that once I have made a plan to deal with my worries I don’t need to think about them anymore and can let them go
• I can change negative thoughts to more positive thoughts
• I can use self talk to help me feel calmer
• I know some breathing exercises that will help when I feel anxious
• I know some exercises that will help me when I am feeling anxious
• I can recognise my unhelpful thoughts
• I can seek help from an adult or trusted person when I feel anxious
• I understand that if I don’t look after my wellbeing I might feel more anxious
• I know that if I keep thinking about my worries they can get bigger and bigger
• I know that anxiety is a response to a threat or danger
• I understand how sometimes my body and mind trick me into thinking there is a real danger
• I understand the reason why some of my body signs to anxiety happen eg. tummy ache or feeling sick is because my digestion slows down when I feel anxious
• I understand that if I feel tired or stressed I am more likely to feel anxious
• I know what ANTS are and can recognise them for what they are *automatic negative thoughts
• I can understand the CBT cycle – thoughts, feelings, body sensations, actions
• I can use mindfulness techniques to calm my mind and body
• I understand that my anxiety feeling won’t last and it will go
• I understand that anxiety can be like a smoke alarm and there is no real danger
• I know what hypothetical worries are
• I understand how exercise can help the anxious feelings in my body
• I know whether a thought I have is a fact or opinion
• I can question and challenge my thoughts
• I can look at the worst case scenario and plan how I might deal with that
• I can look back and decide if worry  has happened to me before. How did it turn out
• I can use my safe place when I feel overwhelmed

Some resources for anxiety work, we do have many many more- Please click the pictures to have a closer look.

Happiness and improving mood

I have linked the targets to resources where possible. Please be mindful that there are many more resources on the website that could be used for each target. We have resources for many age groups from EYFS to Secondary. Also some targets are more about the conversations you would have with a child during your sessions. They might be things you discuss or act out together. They don’t need a dedicated resource.

• I can talk about the things that make me happy
• I can think of things I am grateful for every day
• I can share my feelings with someone
• I can challenge any negative thoughts
• I can try to look at things more positively
• I know that the more I do the better I will feel
• I can plan something I like to do for tomorrow
• I can take care of my wellbeing and make sure I get enough sleep and rest each day
• I can get into the habit at bedtime of thinking of 3 good things that have happened that day
• I know that exercise can make me feel better and will boost my mood
• I can take time out each day to fit in things that I enjoy doing
• I can keep a mood diary and monitor my mood each day
• I can be mindful and get outside in nature
• I can find the time to be totally relaxed each day
• I can think of at least 3 things that relax me
• I can use affirmations each day
• I understand how affirmations can help me
• I can scale my happiness each day
• I can make a sadness or self soothing kit and put things into it that make me feel better
• I can try to smile more
• I know the 5 things I can do each day to help my wellbeing
• I can connect with other people
• I can help other people
• I can learn something new each day
• I can be mindful and take notice of the things around me
• I can fit some exercise into each day
• I know what being happy feels like in my body
• I know what sadness feels like in my body
• I can think of some wishes and dreams that I have

Some resources for happiness work, we do have many many more- Please click the pictures to have a closer look.

Managing Anger

I have linked the targets to resources where possible. Please be mindful that there are many more resources on the website that could be used for each target. We have resources for many age groups from EYFS to Secondary. Also some targets are more about the conversations you would have with a child during your sessions. They might be things you discuss or act out together. They don’t need a dedicated resource.

• I can recognise my triggers for anger
• I understand that my thoughts can cause me to feel angry
• I can change my angry thoughts to more positive thoughts
• I know that my angry feelings can cause sensations in my body
• I can describe some of the physical sensations that I get in my body
• I can scale my anger from 1 to 5 *or which ever scale you use
• I can tell you how I react when I am angry
• I know that everyone feels angry sometimes
• I can understand and talk about the anger firework
• I understand how my anger can build up until it becomes out of control
• I know how I can manage my anger without hurting others, damaging property or hurting myself
• I know some ways of expressing my anger safely
• I can understand what it means for my body to feel relaxed
• I can understand what the fight/flight response is
• I understand that my behaviour can be triggered by my anger
• I can reflect on my anger and can suggest things I might have done differently
• I can talk about times when I felt angry
• I know some other vocabulary to describe my angry feelings
• I can stop and think before acting on my angry feelings
• I can question the thoughts I have and see if there is another way of looking at the situation that is making me angry

Some resources for anger work, we do have many many more- Please click the pictures to have a closer look.

Social Skills Listening

I have linked the targets to resources where possible. Please be mindful that there are many more resources on the website that could be used for each target. We have resources for many age groups from EYFS to Secondary. Also some targets are more about the conversations you would have with a child during your sessions. They might be things you discuss or act out together. They don’t need a dedicated resource.

• I can give and maintain eye contact (please note this is not appropriate for some children)
• I can repeat back something I have heard (reflecting)
• I can understand what is being said
• I can ask sensible questions on what I have heard
• I can show the other person I am listening to them with my body language – eg nodding head or other non verbal communication
• I can use appropriate facial expressions to show I am listening
• I can ignore distractions and continue to listen to the person who is talking
• I can be patient and wait for the speaker to stop speaking before talking myself

Some resources for listening work. Please click the pictures to have a closer look.

Social Skills Friendship/Relationships

I have linked the targets to resources where possible. Please be mindful that there are many more resources on the website that could be used for each target. We have resources for many age groups from EYFS to Secondary. Also some targets are more about the conversations you would have with a child during your sessions. They might be things you discuss or act out together. They don’t need a dedicated resource.

• I can initiate a conversation with a friend
• I can take turns in talking with a friend
• I can share and take turns when playing with another pupil
• I can socialise and be friendly with other pupils
• I can show empathy towards a friend and help if necessary
• I can be loyal and kind to a friend
• I can work and play co-operatively with another pupil
• I know some of the qualities of being a good friend
• I can say if a relationship is healthy or not healthy
• I can find things that I have in common with another pupil
• I can respect my friend’s opinions even if I don’t agree with them
• I can respect my friend’s property
• I can respect my friend’s ideas
• I can respect my friend’s differences
• I can respect my friend’s personal space
• I can include others in my games and activities
• I know how to show a friend that I care about them
• I can apologise to my friend if I am wrong about something
• I can be honest but kind to my friend
• I can keep my promises to a friend
• I can be helpful and supportive to my friend
• I can be trusted as a friend
• I can make up when I have fallen out with a friend.
• I can think of ways to sort out a problem when my friend and I fall out
• I understand that it is ok if a friend doesn’t want to play with me
• I understand that my friend can have other friends too
• I can respect other people’s personal space

Some resources for friendship work. Please click the pictures to have a closer look.

Social Skills General

I have linked the targets to resources where possible. Please be mindful that there are many more resources on the website that could be used for each target. We have resources for many age groups from EYFS to Secondary. Also some targets are more about the conversations you would have with a child during your sessions. They might be things you discuss or act out together. They don’t need a dedicated resource.

• I can use the correct tone of voice appropriate to the situation
• I can put emotion into my voice
• I can apologise if I have done something wrong
• I can use the 4 part apology
• I can forgive someone who has done something wrong to me
• I know what it means to tell a lie and I can try to tell the truth
• I can use my kind hands
• I can use my kind mouth
• I can see another person’s point of view
• I can accept that some people think differently to me
• I can disagree politely and respectfully
• I understand that sometimes I can be wrong about something
• I know some ways of solving a problem
• I can use good manners around school
• I can read body language
• I can show respect for my environment
• I can show respect for other children
• I can show respect for adults
• I can show respect for myself
• I can find other words to use rather than swearing
• I can share with others
• I understand what fairness means and what is fair and unfair
• I know some non verbal ways to communicate
• I can show patience and wait for my turn
• I understand what it means to be impulsive and can stop and think first
• I can be a good loser and praise the person who has won
• I know what it means to be a good sport or show sportsmanship
• I know some ways of greeting other people
• I can be kind and helpful to people I don’t know who are in my school
• I know some ways to help other people feel better
• I can recognise stereotyping and know some ways to challenge sterotypes
• I know it is wrong to steal something from someone
• I can make good choices
• I know how to help tidy up in the classroom
• I understand what it means to interrupt someone
• I understand how important it is to think before speaking
• I can ask for help if I am struggling with something
• I know that it is ok to say no to something if it is the wrong thing to do
• I know what it means to ‘tell tales’
• I can use appropriate voice levels