Zones of Regulation

At Seaford Park PS, we use the Zones of Regulation as a tool to support students in identifying their emotions and using language to communicate their emotions. The Zones of Regulation is a framework designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control. Designed by an Occupational Therapist, the Zones of Regulation teaches language and communication around emotions, how to identify sensory needs and develop each student’s self-regulation strategies.

The Zones of Regulation curriculum teaches students vocabulary of emotional terms, how to recognise their own emotions, how to detect the emotions of others, what may trigger certain emotions, how others may interpret their behaviour and problem-solving skills. It is important to note that there is no "bad" zone - everyone experiences all the zones at different times and in different circumstances and whilst we can't change the way children feel, we can help them manage their feelings and behaviours through using self-regulation tools. 

How you can use the Zones of Regulation at home:

• Identify your own feelings using Zones language in front of your child (e.g. "I'm a bit nervous, I must be in the yellow zone"

• Provide positive reinforcement when your child is in the Green Zone and if they make efforts to stay in the Green Zone (e.g. "I can see you are working really hard to stay in the Green Zone by...")

• Talk about what tools you would use to be in the appropriate zone (e.g. "I am going to go for a walk to get myself into the Green Zone")

• Label what zones your child is in throughout the day (e.g. "You look sleepy, are you in the Blue Zone?")

• Support your child to use self-regulation tools to move into a different zone (e.g. "Let's do some finger breathing to help get into the Green Zone")

• Post and reference the Zones of Regulation visuals around your home

Mrs Melanie French

Assistant Principal

Mrs Anthea Argent

Acting Assistant Principal