The Calm Coach KS1 Programme
Six short video sessions, simple, playful and easy to follow. Specially designed for ages 5 to 7.
We regulate through connection
Nervous System Regulation for KS1
Children start to learn a little of the why alongside the how, discovering that a body alarm explains those wobbly or cross feelings inside, not naughtiness, just their body trying to help. It’s their first real step into nervous system regulation – noticing the signal before reacting to it. Alongside heart breathing, they build a small toolkit, the butterfly hug, noticing what they’re grateful for, and a shake and sigh; practical tools they can reach for themselves, at school or at home.
Each session is around 8 minutes, pre-recorded, and ready to play below.
There’s nothing for staff to prepare, script or facilitate and it can be watched during PSHE.
Week 1 — Hand on Heart: Children are introduced to their “body alarm”, the idea that their body sometimes reacts to keep them safe, even when there’s no real danger, much like a fire alarm going off over burnt toast. They then learn the anchor practice, hand on heart with slow breathing, paired with a special rhyme that will close every session from here on.
Week 2 — Butterfly Hug: Building on their body alarm from Week 1, children learn the butterfly hug, a gentle alternating tap that gives them a second way to help themselves settle. It’s introduced before heart breathing each week, so children finish every session with the same familiar rhyme and routine.
Week 3 — Gratitude: Children are introduced to the Three G’s, noticing three things they’re grateful for, and learn that deliberately noticing something good can help the whole body feel calmer. The butterfly hug carries their gratitude into the closing heart breathing, linking a new idea to a tool they already know.
Week 4 — Shake It Out: Children learn that when they feel “wobbly” inside, movement and a big sigh can help their body let go of that feeling, much like an animal shaking after a stressful moment. All four tools now sit together in one session, showing children they have real choices, not just one thing to remember.
Week 5 — Kindness: Children explore how kindness, given or received, can help a body feel calm and cared for, and are invited to think of someone kind to them, or someone they could be kind to, during their closing heart breathing. It’s a gentle widening of the programme from self-regulation towards connection with others.
Week 6 — You Know What To Do: All four tools come together for the final time, hand on heart, the butterfly hug, Three G’s and shake and sigh, with children choosing whichever thought or tool feels right for them. The session closes by reminding children that these tools are now theirs to use, any time, well beyond the six weeks.
One-Minute Reset: A simple one-minute breathing practice to help settle the nervous system, create a calmer environment and get children ready to learn. Ideally use it before registration or during form time. It can also be used whenever your class needs a quick reset, particularly after busy periods, transitions or when things feel a little overwhelming.
Just one minute. A simple reset for calm, connection and readiness to learn.
Built With Every Child In Mind
Every child’s nervous system is different, and that’s especially true for neurodivergent children, who may experience stress, sensory input and regulation in their own particular way. All three tools in this programme, heart breathing, the butterfly hug and the Three G’s, are body based and self-directed, needing no talking and no complex instructions to follow. The butterfly hug in particular offers a calming, rhythmic, self-administered form of touch that many children find genuinely soothing, including children who find unpredictable sensory input difficult elsewhere in the day. Because every tool can be used silently and independently, children who find group discussion or verbal check-ins harder still have a full, genuine way to regulate. Each nervous system regulation for KS1 video takes just a few minutes.
Why This Matters at This Age
By five to seven, children are starting to notice their feelings more clearly, but noticing isn’t enough on its own, they still need somewhere to put that awareness. A toolkit gives them real choices, not one technique to remember, but several, so they learn to ask “what would help right now?” and trust their own answer, a skill many adults spend years relearning the hard way.
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