return STSElement(self.root_name, elt) if elt is not None else None

    def get_child_text(self, name, strict=True):
        """Extract text of a child element. If strict, and child element is
        not present, raises InvalidXMLError and otherwise returns
        None.

        """
        if strict:
            try:
                return self.element.find('sts:{}'.format(name), _STS_NS).text