Zones of Regulation
Rationale
At Henry Maynard Primary School and Nursery, we recognise the importance of the emotional wellbeing of our pupils and their families. We aim to create an open culture around the discussion of mental health and wellbeing and to empower our children to be able to regulate their emotions. By implementing the Zones of Regulation programme, we aim to teach our pupils to identify emotions in themselves and others and provide them with a bank of strategies to help regulate their emotions and improve their wellbeing.
What are the Zones of Regulation?
The Zones of Regulation are a self-regulation programme we use here at Henry Maynard to help students understand their different internal emotions, sensory needs and thinking patterns.
The Zones framework is used to teach self-regulation by categorising all the different ways we feel, and states of alertness we experience, into four concrete coloured zones.
It provides strategies to teach students to become more aware of, and independent in, controlling their emotions and impulses, managing their sensory needs and improving their ability to problem solve conflicts.
The Zones of Regulation aim 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’).
Understanding the Zones of Regulation
Understanding more about the Zones of Regulation
They categorise emotions into different zones, which are:-
The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness and intense emotions. A person may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, devastation or terror when in the Red Zone. When in the Red Zone a person may be ‘out of control’ and have difficulty making good decisions.
The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions. However, one has more control when they are in the Yellow Zone. A person may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, the wiggles or nervousness when in the Yellow Zone.
The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused, content or ready to learn when in the Green Zone. This is the zone where optimal learning occurs.
The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness and down feelings, such as when one feels sad, tired, sick or bored - the body is ‘running slowly’.
All the zones are natural to experience, but the framework focuses on teaching students how to recognise and manage their Zone, based on the environment and its demands and the people around them.
We will teach the children that everyone experiences all of the Zones. The Red and Yellow Zones are not ‘bad’ or ‘naughty’ Zones. All of the Zones are expected at one time or another. We will show them that the Blue Zone, for example, is helpful when you are trying to fall asleep.
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