Zones of Regulation - Self Regulation

The first day of school was very exciting and there was lots of discussion about being in the ‘yellow’ zone! You may have heard about this term already from your children. It is part of the Zones of Regulation programme.

The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum designed by an Occupational Therapist and is being implemented across the school. It fosters self regulation and emotional control. Self regulation can be named different things such as self-control or self management. It is a person's ability to adjust their level of alertness and how they display their emotions through their behaviour. This includes regulating sensory needs, emotions and impulses to meet the demands of the environment in a socially appropriate way in a specific situation. For example, playing a competitive game in the playground it is beneficial to have a high level of excitement, however this same state of excitement would not be appropriate in the library.

Students in the school are participating in lessons on the Zones of Regulation. This is helping them recognise their emotions and feelings when they are in the different zones as well as learning how to use strategies to stay or change the zone they are in. For example, using a calming activity such as deep breathing if they are in the ‘yellow’ zone or using star jumps in a movement break if they are in the ‘blue’ zone to return to the ‘green’ zone and being ready to learn. In addition to addressing self-regulation the students learn about using a range of emotional terms, skills in reading, recognising other people's facial expressions and insights into events that trigger their behaviour, calming and alerting strategies and problem solving skills.

Here is an example of the emotions that categorise the way that we feel and act. We have these in all of the classrooms so that students can recognise what zone they are in.

Deputy Head of Therapies - Occupational Therapist