What are the Zones of Regulation?

Zones of Regulation is an approach used to support the development of self-regulation in children. All the different ways children feel and the states of alertness they experience are categorized into four coloured zones. Children who are well regulated are able to be in the appropriate zone at the appropriate time.

Teaching the zones gives children a shared language to talk about their emotions by associating them with highly visual coloured zones.  The approach is based on research and is highly respected as a systematic, cognitive behavioural technique leading children to greater independent regulation.  It helps to teach children to identify their feelings, their levels of alertness, to understand how their behaviour influences those around them and gives them the tools they can use to manage their feelings.

How do the Zones of Regulation help children?

• It provides a vocabulary to talk about emotions
• It helps children recognise their own emotions
• It helps children to detect the emotions of others
• It helps them recognise what might trigger certain emotions
• It helps them see how others may interpret their behaviour
• Gives them tools for problem solving

A person who can selfregulate is able to:

• Remain calm in a stressful situation
• Cheer themselves up after a disappointment
• Know when they are experiencing an emotional overload and adjust.

The Zones

Important things to remember:

• There is no ‘bad’ zone.
• Everyone experiences all of the zones at different times and different circumstances.
• We can’t change the way children feel but we can help them manage their feelings/states and behaviours and validate their feelings, ‘I can see you are angry and I understand, but it is not okay to …’
• You can be in more than one zone at a time
• If a child is confident using words to describe their emotions, they might not always need to relate this to a zone.  However, making links to the zones will help them choose the right strategy to manage their feelings.
• If a child is in the red zone, you must limit the verbal – this is not a teachable moment!  Instead, discuss the use of tools when the child is calm and well regulated and plan for if/when it happens again.

Tools and strategies

Reception children will be taught the coloured zones and learn to recognise their own emotions and those of others. Once this is embedded they will start to learn strategies to support regulate their emotions.

Children in year 1 to 6 will be taught the coloured zones and will discuss strategies to help regulate their emotions.  Some useful strategies include:

Blue zone

This is where we need to help our bodies wake up, feel better and regain focus.  What can I do if I am in the blue zone?

Green zone

This is where we are feeling calm, focussed, happy and ready to learn.                                                                                                We are well regulated and proactive.  What can I do if I am in the green zone?

Yellow zone

This is where our feelings are heightened but we are still in some control.                                                                                          We need help to calm ourselves.  What can I do if I am in the yellow zone?

Red zone

This is where we are feeling completely overwhelmed.  We need help to stay safe and calm down.                                                What can I do if I am in the red zone?

Sensory breaks

Some sensory strategies include:

• Squeezing playdough or scrunching up paper into a ball
• Use of a fidget toy
• Blowing bubbles
• Listening to calming music
• Using of a trampoline
• Rolling on an exercise ball
• Drawing
• Reading
• Counting
• Deep breathing