Zones Of Regulation

What are the zones?

You may have heard your child talking about 'The Zones' in relation to their feelings. We have been using The Zones of Regulation™ curriculum (or “The Zones” for short) since September 2024. In the first half term children took part in weekly lessons and activities designed to support them in gaining skills in the area of self-regulation.

Self-regulation can go by many names, such as self-control, self-management, and impulse control. It is defined as the best state of alertness of both the body and emotions for the specific situation. For example, when a student plays on the playground or in a competitive game, it is beneficial to have a higher state of alertness. However, that same state would not be appropriate in the library.

The lessons and learning activities are designed to help the children recognise when they are in the different Zones as well as learn how to use strategies to change or stay in the Zone they are in. Over time, in addition to addressing self-regulation, the children will gain an increased vocabulary of emotional terms, skills in reading other people’s facial expressions, perspective about how others see and react to their behaviour, insight into events that trigger their behaviour, calming and alerting strategies, and problem solving skills.

A critical aspect of this curriculum is that all team members (home and school) know and understand The Zones language. This creates a comfortable and supportive environment for children to practice their self-regulation skills. It also helps the children learn the skills more quickly and be more likely to apply them in many
situations.

It is important to note that everyone experiences all of the Zones—the Red and Yellow Zones are not the “bad” or “naughty” Zones. All of the Zones are expected at one time or another. The Zones of Regulation is intended to be neutral and not communicate judgment.

How you can engage with your child in relation to the zones? Have a look at some of the resources and look out for information home in the new year but once you've had a chance to digest this, if you have any queries then please get in touch

ZonesofRegulation (PDF)