Zones Of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation is a new programme

we our developing at Whitnash

to compliment the schools already

successful Thrive provision.

The aim is to help children notice and label

the emotion/feeling they are experiencing

at any time they might be emotionally

dysregulated or unsettled.

The programme also helps children

regulate themselves when they are

feeling uncomfortable.

How it Works

The programme starts by helping children

to identify which zone

an emotion or feeling is in. 

The children explore these zones and learn

to identify which zone they are in.

This is supported by staff who use the

language of the zones when appropriate.

There are displays in every classroom

to remind and support this process.

Sometimes children can’t or don’t want

to name the emotion but they can identify

which zone they are in.

The colour/emotion association

aims to reduce children’s stress levels,

whilst enabling their communication

when their thinking process

is interrupted and disrupted

by over-whelming emotions.

Children also learn that their feelings

and emotions can lead to expected

and unexpected behaviours and that those

behaviours can have an impact on the

children and adults around them

e.g., if you are in the red zone

and shouting very loudly at your friend,

it is unlikely that your friend

will be in the green zone. 

Once children understand the concept

of the zones they will explore ways

to help regulate themselves

with the support of different strategies.

We want to help all children

recognise when they are

beginning to feel uncomfortable in

the yellow zone and have a toolbox of ideas

to help them regulate themselves.

In addition to addressing self-regulation,

the students will gain an increased

vocabulary of emotional terms,

skills in reading other people’s facial

expressions, perspective about how others

see and react to their behaviour, insight into

events that trigger their behaviour,

calming and alerting strategies,

and problem-solving skills.

We also may scale the problem

with the children. 

The key message is to help your child

understand that it is ok to feel angry,

be worried or scared

but they do need to find ways

to help themselves manage those

uncomfortable feelings and self-sooth.

This may also help them with their

self-esteem and resilience.