The Keep Calm toolkit

An award winning website with 12 tools (strategies) that are all about promoting healthy brain development, positive behaviour and wellbeing.

Including: Name it to tame it, tap it out and mindful moments.

For each strategy, there is video of a child demonstrating how to use it as well as an adult explanation video on why the strategy is useful and how to support the child in using it effectively.

A simple breathing exercise for children to use when they are heightened, agitated or with something looming that may trigger them. All they need is a hand, their breath and a caring adult to get them started.

This is a lovely and helpful video from Trauma Busters, with Amelie demonstrating how we can give ourselves a ‘Butterfly Hug’. This is a self-soothing technique which can bring a sense of calm and help us to process difficult emotions.

Based on the idea of self regulation theory, these cards are designed to help children identify a task they can do to help calm themselves back down (green zone in self regulation).

By choosing the task themselves, children are taking responsibility for their own feelings and will in turn feel liberated that they were able to calm themselves down.

Initially written for parents during lockdown but could be effectively used for specific pupils. Journaling for kids is a wonderful way to open up new horizons. A journal can be a friend, a confidant and a mentor. You can use them to be creative, find out more about yourself, develop intuition and solve problems. By getting thoughts out of your head and down on paper, you can gain insights about yourself that you’d otherwise never see.

Calming activity visual cards that could be used by training the pupils on how to use them. Includes a calming hand sequence and square breathing.

'Power up corners' are sometimes used for structured movement breaks. They can help to 'reset' pupils who benefit from engaging the senses through different exercises with little equipment needed.

From Lincolnshire BOSS (Behaviour Outreach Support Service), this regulation toolkit has some great strategies to train our pupils as well as links to example videos. It also presents a four stage approach to strategies depending on their current stage of regulation which is really useful to know about.

Guidance of how to approach pupils who are easily triggered and struggle to self-regulate. Some simple strategy visuals are also included that the pupils can then be taught to self-regulate.

From the Winston's Wish website, this guide and template is to create a 'First Aid kit' that helps when the hurts, pains and bumps are on the inside; a kit that reminds us of what we need to look after us when we may be feeling overwhelmed, on difficult days or when things build up to bursting point.