Key facts
- Brain-SET combines training, coaching/mentoring, and classroom change.
- Goal: environments where a calm brain can become a thinking brain.
- Process overview: How Brain-SET Works.
Brain-SET works by combining pedagogical training with ongoing coaching and mentoring so educators can redesign learning environments to align with brain development — and keep those changes working over time.
The Brain-SET change process
- Understand the brain needs — Survival, Emotional, and Thinking (S.E.T.) and why a calm brain can think.
- Learn the framework — 3 Pillars of Design and 16 Design Elements applied to real classrooms.
- Transform the environment — guided classroom changes with curated spaces and materials.
- Strengthen pedagogy — planning, language, questioning, playful facilitation, and behaviour support through the environment.
- Sustain the change — coaching and mentoring so practice continues after the initial training.
Typical outcomes
When Brain-SET is implemented well, centres and schools commonly report children who are calmer and more engaged, richer relationships, more effective self-regulation, fewer behaviour escalations, and educators who feel more confident and excited about their work.
Example: Astrea Academy Trust
The Brain-SET team, including early childhood expert Dr Sue Allingham, partnered with Astrea Academy Trust in a year-long initiative using professional development, on-site coaching, and mentoring to align classroom spaces with children’s brain development.