It is important to note the range of individual differences.......

Some learners may present with  highly sensitized neurological responses. This may be due to being naturally highly sensitive to environments. For others, neurodiversity (including Autism and ADHD) may be a contributing factor, impacting upon how the nervous system processes environmental stimuli. Sometimes neurological development is disrupted by the impact of trauma. Trauma may be historical, episodic or ongoing. ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) studies have highlighted the prevalence of these experiences amongst our populations and the serious, long-term effects that follow in the absence of buffering or effective intervention. 

Some learners may be impacted by a combination of the above. These learners may be more easily overwhelmed by physical sensations (e.g. sound, touch, light), social expectations (e.g. communicating in groups) or cognitive demands (e.g. understanding and implementing instructions). They are likely to have strong reactions when they find the environment overstimulating. They are easily pushed out of their 'window of tolerance' (see next section). 

Adult wellbeing and Whole School systems for supporting wellbeing are key. 

Children learn socially, that is, by copying those around them. They are highly influenced by the adults in the room who are not only responsible for planned learning activities but who also set the emotional tone of the learning space.

Emotional contagion is the unconscious spread of emotions from one person to another and it occurs subconsciously whenever people are together. Put simply, emotional contagion is the process of  catching the emotions of someone else. As an adult you are able to to use this influence to set a positive emotional tone that will spread and affect others around you. Emotional contagion is a powerful force that we are often not aware of. It was developed a long time ago in humans as an evolutionary strategy to help spread emotion (especially 'flight' associated emotions such as fear) quickly through a group. In this way, when danger was spotted by an individual, the whole group was able to move quickly and together to a place of safety, without the need for any verbal communication. 

As adults, we therefore need to be aware of our own emotion and how it can affect those around us. We also need to be aware that we will be affected by powerful emotions being expressed by some of the children we work with, and we need to be able to stay present and self-aware especially at these times of heightened emotion, if we are to be helpful in the situation. Sometimes the best course of action is to step back and allow another adult to take over. 

The first step for any adult is therefore to check-in with themselves and their own capacity for self-regulation. 

To co-regulate successfully, adults need to be able to:

• pay attention to their own feelings and reactions during stressful interactions with a child or young person

• pay attention to their own thoughts and beliefs about the behaviours of others

• use self-calming strategies and respond effectively and compassionately

Consider at all stages whether you may need to take a moment for a few deep breaths or to step back for a minute or two, away from the situation.

Consider: are you co-regulating or co-escalating? Sometimes it may be best to 'swap in' a different adult. Self-regulating during a stressful interaction with a learner is not an easy task. Adults in this role may benefit from support, practice and/or coaching to build their own coping and calming skills, which in turn will build their capacity to support the development of these skills in learners. 

Creating the space and time for supervision, debriefing and other reflective practices is also helpful in supporting adults in this important and demanding role.

Further information is available here: The Cycle of Wellbeing | Learning resources | National Improvement Hub (education.gov.scot)