From time to time, all of us (including adults) find it hard to manage strong feelings such as worry, anger, restlessness, fear or tiredness, and this stops us from getting on with our day effectively. Children who feel these emotions often find it hard to learn and concentrate in school. The Zones of Regulation aims to teach children strategies to help them cope with these feelings so they can get back to feeling calm and ready to learn. These coping strategies are called ‘self-regulation’.

At Pudsey Waterloo Primary School, we are launching the Zones of Regulation throughout the whole school. We want to teach all of our children good coping and regulation strategies so they can help themselves when they experience different emotions.

We aim to help children to:

• Recognise when they are in the different Zones and learn how to change or stay in the Zone they are in.
• Increase their emotional vocabulary so they can explain how they are feeling.
• Recognise when other people are in different Zones, thus developing better empathy.
• Develop an insight into what might make them move into the different Zones.
• Understand that emotions, sensory experiences such as lack of sleep or hunger and their environment might influence which Zone they are in.
• Develop problem-solving skills and resilience.
• Identify a range of calming and alerting strategies that support them (known as their personal ‘toolkit’. 

What are the different zones?

Blue Zone: low level of arousal; not ready to learn; feels sad, sick, tired, bored, moving slowly.

Green Zone: calm state of alertness; optimal level to learn; feels happy, calm, feeling okay, focused.

Yellow Zone: heightened state of alertness; elevated emotions; has some control; feels frustrated, worried, silly/wiggly, excited, loss of some control.

Red Zone: heightened state of alertness and intense emotions; not an optimal level for learning; out of control; feels mad/angry, terrified, yelling/hitting, elated, out of control.

We will be using the Zones language as part of daily school life so all staff will be referring to them, not just their class teacher. It would be highly benificial if you could begin to use the vocabulary and tools that they develop at home. 

Below are some resources that you may want to print and display around the home to further support your child's emotional regulation. 

Zones of Regulation Resources

• Blue Zone Display
• Green Zone Display
• Yellow Zone Display
• Red Zone Display
• Toolbox to complete at home
• Lazy 8 breathing
• Calming sequence
• Six sides of breathing