Zones of Regulation: Helping Children Find Their Calm in the Classroom

Öhlböck et al. (2024) explored whether training mainstream primary teachers in the Zones of Regulation could improve their confidence in supporting autistic pupils with self-regulation needs.

The study involved teachers working in mainstream primary classrooms where at least one autistic pupil had identified self-regulation difficulties. Teachers completed a short online training session focused on key parts of the Zones of Regulation approach.

The findings showed that teachers felt more confident after the training in recognising pupils’ regulation needs and supporting them in the classroom. Teachers also reported that the approach was understandable, practical and realistic to use in mainstream settings.

The study suggests that the approach may be useful as part of inclusive classroom practice because it gives staff a shared framework for understanding and responding to pupils’ emotional regulation needs.

Benefits of Zones of Regulation

Zones of Regulation can help schools to:

• Give pupils a clear language to describe how they are feeling.

• Support emotional literacy and self-awareness.

• Help children recognise when they are calm, anxious, frustrated, overwhelmed or dysregulated.

• Encourage pupils to identify strategies that help them regulate.

• Provide visual and structured support, which can be helpful for autistic pupils and other children with SEN.

• Create a consistent approach across classrooms and staff teams.

• Improve teacher confidence in supporting pupils’ regulation needs.

• Reduce misunderstandings around behaviour by focusing on emotional need.

• Support a calmer and more predictable classroom environment.

• Help staff respond proactively rather than reactively.

• Promote inclusion by making emotional regulation support part of everyday classroom practice.

Öhlböck, E., Stinson, M., McClintock, K. and Turtle, B. (2024) ‘Evaluating the effectiveness of key components of Zones of Regulation™ curriculum training on teachers’ self-efficacy at managing self-regulation needs in autistic pupils’, British Journal of Special Education, 51(1), pp. 111–122. doi: 10.1111/1467-8578.12501.