At Heronshaw, we are committed to enabling all children achieveing the very best possible educational and personal outcomes. We believe in high ambitions for all our children, including those with special educational needs. It is essential that we provide an adaptive approach based on what every child needs to ensure that all their individual needs are fully met, and every child achieves their full potential.
Heronshaw School is an outstanding learning environment where high expectations from staff of both themselves and their learners' mean children learn in a happy, exciting, respectful and supportive community. We encourage all children and staff to fulfil their full potential and embrace children’s individual talents and needs. We are an inclusive school. We promote equality of access and opportunity to all areas of the curriculum for all learners. Pupils are taught in an environment where they receive equal respect and in which their individuality is valued. It is the responsibility of all teachers to help each, and every pupil reach their own potential through supported and differentiated teaching across the curriculum.
We believe that parents and carers play a vital role in supporting their child’s education and we therefore aim to foster positive relationships between school staff, parents and carers during their time at Heronshaw School.
Our SEND principles
- We identify pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as early as possible and ensure that their needs are met promptly and effectively.
- We have in place robust systems whereby teachers are aware of pupils with SEND and how to identify additional needs.
- We provide all pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum that is differentiated to the needs and ability of the individual
- We have high ambitions and expectations for pupils with SEND
- We are sympathetic to each pupil’s needs by promoting a strong partnership between the pupil, the parent and school staff
- We actively engage in support from the Local Authority and outside agencies
- We ensure that all pupils take a full and active part in school life.
At Heronshaw we use the Zones of Regulation to support well-being.
What are the Zones of Regulation?
The Zones of Regulation is a systematic framework designed to help individuals, especially children, understand and manage their emotions, sensory needs and self-regulation skills. Feelings are complicated. They come in different sizes, intensities, and levels of energy that are unique within our brains and bodies. To make them easier to talk about, think about, and regulate, the Zones of Regulation organises our feelings, states of alertness and energy levels into four coloured Zones – blue, green, yellow and red. The simple, common language and visual structure of the Zones of Regulation helps make the complex skill of regulation more concrete for learners and those who support them. We learn to regulate our Zones to meet our goals and task demands, as well as support our overall well-being.
What do the colours mean?
Each colour is linked to a group of emotions and state of alertness.
Blue Zone – This zone describes low states of alertness and down feelings, such as when a person feels sad, tired, sick, hurt, lonely or bored. Our energy is low and our body is moving slowly.
Green Zone – This zone describes a calm, alert state. We may be feeling happy, focused, content, peaceful or calm. The nervous system feels safe, organized and connected. This helps us to be primed to learn.
Yellow Zone – This zone describes when our energy is higher and our internal state starts to elevate. Our emotions get a little stronger. We may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, silliness, confusion, nervousness, be overwhelmed or have the wiggles.
Red Zone – This describes a state of extremely high energy and intense, very overwhelming feelings. We may be an extremely heightened state of alertness, potentially triggering our fight, flight, freeze or flee protective response. We may feel elated, euphoric, anger, rage, devastated, out of control, panicked or terrified.
The Zones of regulation help us to identify each range of emotions and know that it is ok to experience all of them.
We develop toolkits with the children which are made up of strategies they can self select when they are in certain zones. We consistently model these strategies as adults to highlight the importance of self-regulation.
Click below to watch a video about Zones of Regulation at Heronshaw.
