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Zones of Regulation
Michelle Durant and Hayley Livermore (Learning Support, Junior School) write about The Zones of Regulation, a framework for teaching students a set of skills that build an awareness of how they feel, what their triggers are and how to create a range of tools to help them stay in an optimal zone for learning. 

“Regulation is something everyone continually works on whether we are cognizant of it. We all encounter trying circumstances that test our limits from time to time. If we can recognize when we are becoming less regulated, we are able to do something about it to manage our feelings and get ourselves to a healthy place. This comes more naturally for some, but for others, it is a skill that needs more attention and practice. This is the goal of The Zones of Regulation (or Zones for short)." - Leah Kuypers, author of The Zones of Regulation 

According to the SEND Code of Practice, 2015, children can be broadly categorised into four main areas of need:

  • communication and interaction
  • cognition and learning
  • social, emotional and mental health difficulties
  • sensory and/or physical needs

The Learning Support (LS) team are therefore not limited to supporting children’s cognitive and learning needs, but also their social, emotional and mental health, as well as their communication and interaction with others. As a team, we are always keen to develop our knowledge and interventions with evidenced based programmes 
and ideas. 

The Zones of Regulation (Zones) first came to our attention when reading an Educational Psychologist’s report for one of our students, where it was mentioned as a strategy to support their emotional regulation. Having explored the programme, via the Zones website, we registered everyone in the LS team for the webinar. It was certainly inspirational and informative, and one of the best webinars we had attended. Since October 2021, we have seen the Zones of Regulation flourish and develop as a concept in the Juniors. Staff and parent workshops have been delivered, regulation stations set up and children are starting to use the Zones as a common language to help them navigate the world of emotions. 

Learning about the zones
The Zones of Regulation is a framework, created by Leah Kuypers in 2011.  It teaches students a set of skills that builds an awareness of how they feel, what their triggers are and how to create a range of tools that fall into three categories. They are calming tools, alerting tools and thinking tools that help them to stay in the Zone where they learn best. It serves to support our students who struggle and need support regarding social, emotional and mental health challenges. 

All children can benefit from the programme, learning about the Zones and the tips for managing people around us, our triggers and our reactions. Resisting emotional outbursts when something upsets us, focusing on schoolwork, controlling our impulses, calming ourselves down when we feel worried or anxious, and transitioning from one task to another are all examples of self-regulation that children need to learn and need guidance and practise on just like any other subject. 

What the research says
Originally the Zones of Regulation was designed for children who struggle with self-regulation and have, for example, a diagnosis of ADHD or Autism. It was then discovered that the Zones was a programme that everyone could use, including parents and teachers. Multiple studies have shown immense impact on safety perception in schools, children with various social, emotional and mental health needs or who have experienced trauma. The team have access to a range of resources exploring the Zones including games, books, toolkit cards and printouts. 

Michelle Garcia Winner who designed the incredible resource, Social Thinking, also supported Leah Kuypers in her development of the Zones refining lessons and states, “The Zones of Regulation also incorporates core teachings from Social Thinking to help students learn more about perspective taking to better understand how being in the different Zones impacts others’ thoughts and feelings around them……The Zones curriculum helps students gain an increased vocabulary of emotional terms, skills in facial expressions, insight on events that trigger their behaviour, problem solving skills and much more.”  

This sums up the hugely valuable resource The Zones of Regulation has become in so many schools and homes. Social stories, founder Carol Gray, Dunn Buron’s and Curtis’s The Incredible 5 Point Scale as well as Susanne Poulette Truesdale’s Whole Body Listening have given Learning Support a wealth of invaluable resources that complement and support each other in our quest to enable the children we work with, successfully navigate the complex social world.

©Kupyers & Sautter 2012

A journey of self-discovery
The Zones starts the children on a journey of self-discovery, as emotional regulation is an ever evolving ability that requires self-reflection and analysis of what our triggers are and how we respond. We have seen huge individual progress and the Zones have certainly been a part of that transformation. Other strategies are used alongside the Zones, but the programme has resonated well with so many of our students. 

Consistency is key and the more we encourage the children to use the Zones in their everyday life, the greater the impact will be. Group sessions bring awareness, they start the conversations, and they bring understanding, and openness within a safe group. With class teachers on board, the ZOR can then be put further into action and embedded into the classroom culture at Tanglin. Other useful aspects of the programme have been Stop Opt and Go, an easy phrase to remember for those children who struggle with impulse control, as well as the size of the problem where children are encouraged to think “Does my reaction match the situation?”   

Comments from some of our recent Zones of Regulation groups:

  • I know about the emotions; I just need to control them. 
  • I really use the Stop Opt and Go and sometimes I use my 
  • own tools. 
  • I don’t have as many outbursts; I am more relaxed.
  • I enjoyed the group a lot. I still feel I can improve more 
  • at home. 

Sharing resources
We are more than happy to share resources, deliver starter Zones sessions and create intervention groups. Year 3 has already had introductory lessons delivered by Anjni, the LS link teacher for Year 3.  Last Year we also trialled some very successful sessions in Year 5 on the Zones and Whole Body Listening. Hayley, the LS link teacher in Year 5, has also worked with Jenny and Jenna to implement the Zones in LifeSkills lessons. 

We have created Google folders with resources and slides for any teachers who wish to explore this intervention further with their classes.  All teachers have attended a Zones workshop and have been given resources that can be put into place quite easily in the classroom.  Over time we hope it will embed further and develop into a resource that teachers and children both refer to and just remember “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it!” (Charles Swindoll). 

  • Thought Leadership

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