What is the Emotional Regulation Classroom Toolkit?

The Emotional Regulation Classroom Toolkit is a 26-piece resource set from The Play Doctors, designed to help autistic children and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) recognise, name and manage their emotions. It brings together visual fans, fidget tools, mood bands, a storybook and emotion cards in one ready-to-use kit for schools and homes.

The toolkit works by giving children a consistent, visual language for feelings, rather than relying on words alone. It includes 42 Every Day I'm a Rainbow Emotions Cards, 9 Stretchy Fidget Noodles, 3 Emotions Face Fans, 3 Traffic Light Think Fans, 3 Self Regulation Fans, 3 Mood Bands, 4 Emotional Regulation Options Posters and 1 Winston the Worried Whale storybook. Having this range of tools in one place means staff and parents can reach for whichever resource suits the moment, whether that is a calming fidget during a wobble or a fan to help a child point to how they feel.

For schools

• Gives a whole class a shared set of visual tools for emotional regulation, useful during circle time, transitions or one-to-one check-ins.
• Supports provision written into EHCPs and SEND support plans, and fits within a graduated approach to emotional regulation.
• Includes enough individual pieces, such as three sets of fans and mood bands, to use with a small group or rotate around a class.
• Suitable for early years and primary settings looking for a single, well-organised resource rather than several separate purchases.

For parents and home use

• Gives families a calm, practical way to talk about big feelings at home, using the same visual approach many schools already use.
• The Winston the Worried Whale storybook offers a gentle, shared reading moment to open up conversations about worry and emotions.
• Fidget noodles and mood bands are easy to carry between home, the car and days out, so regulation support travels with the child.
• Helps reduce frustration around meltdowns by giving children a tool to show how they feel before emotions escalate.

For autistic children, the toolkit's reliance on pictures, colour-coded fans and objects to hold, rather than requiring spoken explanation, matches the way many autistic children process and communicate emotion. For children with a wider range of SEND, the repetition of the same visual system across fans, cards and posters helps build a routine that children can rely on, which is often more effective than a one-off conversation about feelings.

Visual supports and self-regulation tools of this kind are widely used within occupational therapy and SEND practice because they give children a concrete, external way to identify an internal state, a step that many neurodivergent children find difficult to do from words alone.

Schools can add the Emotional Regulation Classroom Toolkit to existing SEND provision with no set-up required, and parents can start using it at home the same day it arrives.

• 26-piece toolkit covering eight different resource types, so there is a tool for calming, naming and discussing emotions in one pack.
• 3 Emotions Face Fans to help children point to and identify how they are feeling.
• 3 Traffic Light Think Fans to support children in pausing and thinking before reacting.
• 3 Self Regulation Fans offering visual prompts for calming strategies.
• 3 Mood Bands that can be worn to show a child's current emotional state at a glance.
• 9 Stretchy Fidget Noodles for hands-on sensory regulation.
• 1 Winston the Worried Whale storybook to open up conversations about worry in a gentle, story-based way.
• 4 Emotional Regulation Options Posters for display in a classroom, quiet corner or calm space.
• 42 Every Day I'm a Rainbow Emotions Cards for daily emotion check-ins, either individually or as part of a group routine.
• Age and stage suitability:

• One kit, eight tools. Twenty-six pieces across fans, fidgets, cards, posters and a storybook mean staff and parents are never short of the right resource for the moment.
• Built around visual communication. The colour-coded fans and cards give autistic children a way to show how they feel without needing to find the words.
• Ready for the classroom straight away. Multiple fans and mood bands mean a teacher or teaching assistant can use it with more than one child at once.
• A gentle option for home too. Winston the Worried Whale gives parents a calm, story-led way to start conversations about worry and big feelings.
• Specialist SEND retailer. Supplied through The Dyslexia Shop, a UK retailer focused on dyslexia, autism and wider learning differences.

What's in the Box

• 3 x Emotions Face Fans
• 3 x Traffic Light Think Fans
• 3 x Self Regulation Fans
• 3 x Mood Bands
• 9 x Stretchy Fidget Noodles
• 1 x Winston the Worried Whale storybook
• 4 x Emotional Regulation Options Posters
• 42 x Every Day I'm a Rainbow Emotions Cards

Delivery and Returns

Standard UK delivery applies. See The Dyslexia Shop's Delivery and Returns page for full details.

• What is the Emotional Regulation Classroom Toolkit?
  It is a 26-piece resource pack from The Play Doctors that helps children recognise, name and manage their emotions. It includes fans, fidget tools, mood bands, a storybook and emotion cards, and is designed for use in schools and at home.
• Is this toolkit suitable for autistic children?
  Yes, the toolkit is designed with autistic children in mind. Its colour-coded fans, mood bands and emotion cards give a visual, non-verbal way to communicate feelings, which suits many autistic children who find it hard to express emotion through speech alone.
• Does this help children with SEND more generally, not just autism?
  Yes, the toolkit supports a wide range of SEND needs, not only autism. The repeated visual system across the fans, cards and posters helps build a predictable routine around emotions, which benefits many children with additional needs.
• Who is this toolkit for?
  It is designed for school staff supporting a class or group, and for parents and carers supporting a child at home. Both settings can use the same fans, cards and storybook to give a consistent approach to emotional regulation.
• How can teachers use this in the classroom?
  Teachers and teaching assistants can use the fans and mood bands with individual children or small groups during transitions, circle time or one-to-one check-ins. The posters can be displayed in a calm space or quiet corner for ongoing reference.
• How can parents use this at home?
  Parents can read Winston the Worried Whale together to open a conversation about worry, then use the fans, mood bands and cards day to day to help a child show how they are feeling before emotions build up.
• Does the toolkit include a storybook?
  Yes, one copy of Winston the Worried Whale is included, offering a gentle, story-led route into conversations about worry and big feelings for children and the adults supporting them.
• How many items are included in the toolkit?
  The toolkit contains 26 individual items across eight resource types, including 42 emotion cards, 9 fidget noodles, and three each of the fans and mood bands.