Zones of Regulation
‘Zones of Regulation’ is a whole-school approach to supporting children’s emotional development and wellbeing.
What are the Zones of Regulation?
The Zones of Regulation is a framework designed to help children gain a better understanding of their emotions, develop self-regulation skills and learn strategies to manage their feelings in a healthy and productive way. It uses four colour-coded “zones” to represent different states of alertness and emotions:
Blue Zone – low states of alertness (e.g., sad, tired, bored, sick)
Green Zone – calm, focused, and ready to learn
Yellow Zone – heightened alertness (e.g., excited, worried, silly, frustrated)
Red Zone – extremely heightened states (e.g., anger, panic, rage)
Children are taught to recognise which “zone” they are in, understand that it’s normal to move between zones throughout the day, and learn strategies to help themselves return to a zone that supports learning and positive behaviour.
What will our pupils learn through Zones of Regulation?
- Vocabulary of emotional terms
- How to recognise their own emotions
- How to detect the emotions of others (read others’ facial expressions)
- Develop an understanding of what may trigger certain emotions
- Learn about how others may interpret their behaviour
- Develop problem-solving skills
How can you support your child at home with the approach?
