Zones of Regulation
At Orchard, we are committed to supporting children, staff and parents in their wellbeing and mental health. We know that wellbeing, physical and mental health are all vital to successful learning. In October 2023 we introduced a new intervention called ‘The Zones of Regulation.’ This intervention is designed to help our children manage difficult emotions by teaching self-regulation.
Self-regulation can go by many names such as ‘self-control’, ‘impulse management’ and ‘self-management’. Self-regulation is best described as the best state of alertness for a situation. For example, when your child takes part in a sports match, they would need to have a higher state of alertness than when, for example, they were reading in a library. From time to time, all of us find it hard to manage strong feelings, such as worry, anger, 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 their feelings, implementing self-regulation, so they can get back to feeling calm and ready to learn.
In the classroom, sometimes children panic when faced with a tricky learning problem or challenge, leading them to feel anxious, upset or stressed. Teaching them how to manage these feelings might make them better at tackling learning challenges and build better resilience. We want the children at Orchard to grow into successful teenagers, and adults, giving them strategies to support them in later life, so that they don’t turn to negative coping methods which affect their mental and physical wellbeing.
Through using the Zones of Regulation, 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 may 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 ‘toolbox’.
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, 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 teach the children that everyone experiences all of the Zones and none of them are ‘bad’ or ‘naughty’. All of the Zones are expected at one time or another. We show them that the Blue Zone, for example, is helpful when you are trying to fall asleep.
We use the characters from the film ‘Inside Out’ to help children to understand each Zone. All classrooms have a display, which includes the characters from Inside Out and a list of feelings and strategies that the children can refer to.
We do lots of work on identifying different emotions, both in ourselves and in others. We strive to ensure the children at Orchard have a broad vocabulary and secure understanding of emotions and the behaviours that they can cause.
The children also create their own ‘toolboxes’ full of strategies that they can use when they’re in the different zones. These could be sensory supports, such as fiddle objects; calming techniques, such as breathing-exercises, or thinking strategies, such as considering the size of the problem and keeping things in perspective.
Using the Zones of Regulation at home
We believe that the Zones of Regulation is a simple, but effective, system that can also be replicated at home. This would further support the children in their self-regulation, as consistency between home and school reinforces key messages and helps children to feel confident and secure in what they are doing.
If you wish to use the Zones at home, here are some tips:
- Identify your own feelings using Zones language in front of your child e.g. "I’m worried and in the yellow zone."
- Talk about what tool you will use to be in the appropriate Zone e.g.: “I need to take four deep breaths to help get me back to the Green Zone.”
- At times, wonder which Zone your child is in. Or, discuss which Zone a character in a film/book might be in.
- Engaging your child in discussion around Zones when they are in the Red Zone is unlikely to be effective. Discuss this when they are more regulated or calm.
- Teach your child which tools they can use e.g.: “It’s time for bed. Let’s read a book to get you in the Blue Zone.”
- Regular Check-ins. “How are you feeling now?” and “How can you get back to Green?”
- Modelling how you use tools to get back to the green zones. Afterwards, tell your child how using those tools helped you get back to the green zone.
- Share how their behaviour is affecting your Zone.
- Use the Zones visuals and tools in your home.
- Praise and encourage your child when they share which Zone they are in, identify their emotions or use strategies from the toolkit.
- Know yourself and how you react in difficult situations before dealing with your child’s behaviours.
- Know your child’s sensory threshold. We all process sensory information differently and it impacts our reactivity to situations.
- Know your child’s triggers.
- Be consistent in managing your child’s behaviour and use the same language you use at home.
- Empathise with your child and validate what they are feeling.
- Have clear boundaries/routines and always follow through.
- Do not deal with an angry, upset child when you are not yet calm yourself.
- Discuss strategies for the next time when you are in a similar situation.
- Remember to ask your child how their choices made you feel (empathy).
- Praise your child for using strategies. Encourage your child to take a sensory break to help regulate their bodies.
- Create a ‘calm’ box full of things which help to keep your child calm and alert.
Common questions on the zone of Regulation
Can my child be in more than one zone at the same time?
Yes. Your child may feel tired (blue zone) because they did not get enough sleep, and anxious (yellow zone) because they are worried about something. Listing more than one Zone reflects a good sense of personal feelings and alertness.
Should children be punished for being in the RED Zone?
It’s best for children to experience the natural consequences of being in the RED zone. If a child’s actions/choices hurt someone or break something, they need to repair this and take responsibility for the impact. Once the child has calmed down, use the experience as a learning opportunity to process what they would do differently.
Can you look like one Zone on the outside and feel like you are in another Zone on the inside?
Yes. Many of us “disguise” our Zone to match social expectations. We use the expression “put on a happy face” or mask the emotion, so other people will have good thoughts about us. Parents often say that their children “lose it” and go into the Red Zone as soon as they get home. This is because children are increasing their awareness of their peers and expectations when in the classroom. They make every effort to keep it together at school to stay in the Green Zone. Home is where they feel safe to let it all out.
If you wish to find out more information, you can visit:
www.zonesofregulation.com
www.weareteachers.com/zones-of-regulation-activities
https://hes-extraordinary.com/zones-of-regulation-activities