Motional Glossary

100 Club | A band of experienced Motioneers with dedication exceeded only by….

500 club | oh wow….

Action Plan | Following the creation of an Organisational Snapshot, an Editor can create a targeted Emotional Health Action Plan to support their School Development Plan.

Advice | Advice is a component of the Program which can be created following a Snapshot. It is a specific way of being in relationship with the child or young person and is differentiated depending on the results of the Snapshot, in order to meet the child where they are in terms of their emotional and mental health.

Always/Never Statements | Every question in Motional has a guide that describes what always and never may look like when observed. It is found by clicking on the link just above the question on the Snapshot or Groupshot create page.

CARE | Motional measures different emotional systems in the brain based on Professor Jaak Panksepp’s work and several key executive function skills. CARE is one of those systems (known in Motional as Subdomains) measured within the Social Engagement Domain. CARE measures the child’s capacity for compassion toward self and others and Social Engagement skills in general.

Comprehensive Snapshot/Groupshot | A more in-depth Snapshot that looks at the Domains of Social Engagement, Social Defence and Executive Functioning. It is a ‘whole-brain’ approach and helps to measure wellbeing across the age-spectrum and is designed in particular for work with individuals and small groups.

Domain | A series of Subdomains that connect to form an area of focus within a Motional Snapshot or Groupshot e.g. Social Engagement (made up of the CARE, SEEKING and PLAY Subdomains.

Executive Functioning | The Domain that contains the set of cognitive processes activated in the pre-frontal cortex. They are key to learning and to being able to handle stress well. They include the Subdomains of Emotional Regulation, Thinking and Concentration, Sense of Self, Relationship with Others and Emotional Literacy.

FEAR | Motional measures different emotional systems in the brain based on Professor Jaak Panksepp’s work and several key executive function skills. FEAR is one of those systems (Subdomains) measured within the Social Defence Domain.

Group | A Group is more than one Participant brought together for observation and action through the Motional tool. They are generally in the same place at the same time -  good examples could be a class, or an intervention group. Remember though that Participants can be in more than one Group...so a class and an after-school club for example.

Groupshot | Put simply a Groupshot is an efficient mechanism for collecting Snapshots for more than one Participant at a time i.e. a Group. It can be undertaken at Universal or Comprehensive level.

Motional | Our trading name and website.

Motioneer | You! Like a Musketeer but with more panache and more impact!

Organisational Snapshot | Motional's tool for gathering stakeholder feedback about Emotional Health and Mental Wellbeing in your school or setting. From this you can go on to build an Action Plan.

PANIC/GRIEF | Motional measures different emotional systems in the Brain based on Professor Jaak Panksepp’s work and several key executive function skills. PANIC/GRIEF is one of those systems (known in Motional as Subdomains) measured within the Social Defence Domain.

Parent | Parent refers to the parent or legal guardian of a Participant.

Participant | A Participant is any one person on which a Snapshot is undertaken. This is usually a child. We use the term Participant because we want them to participate (not have 'done' to or on them) and because participation is what impacts our emotional health - participation in the environment and in relationship!

Participant Tag | An identifier added to the Participant record in the create or edit Participant field.  This could be things like Free School Meals (FSM), ADHD or Young Carer. This can be used in search and filter tools to view by Participants with this identifying tag, and likewise in the reporting area of Motional.

Personal Dashboard | The personal Dashboard is the page everyone sees immediately after they log in that contains information about their use of Motional.

Pink Circle | Users’ direct SOS line to us, to be used if they can’t find the answer they’re looking for, need help with anything else, fancy a catch-up or just need one of Neil’s funny GIFs to brighten up their day!

PLAY | Motional measures different emotional systems in the brain based on Professor Jaak Panksepp’s work and several key executive function skills. PLAY is one of those systems (known in Motional as Subdomains) measured within the Social Engagement Domain.

Program | A range of Safety guidance and Advice to help protect, regulate, contain, attune and reflect, and suggested activities tailored for a child. It is bespoke, based on a scores gathered through a Snapshot.

Question | A question (or sometimes a statement) in Motional to which a response is indicated as part of a Snapshot. The questions we ask in Snapshots all have descriptors (Always/Never Statements) so staff know what they mean and how to answer them.

RAGE | Motional measures different emotional systems in the brain based on Professor Jaak Panksepp’s work and several key executive function skills. RAGE is one of those systems (known in Motional as Subdomains) measured within the Social Defence Domain.

Resilience | The dynamic capacity of a person to access internal and external resources that allow them to adapt, challenge, overcome, and change adversity.

Safety | Safety is a component of the Program which can be created following a Snapshot. It is specific, consistent guidance in order to keep both you and the child safe in relationship and environment.

SEEKING | Motional measures different emotional systems in the brain based on Professor Jaak Panksepp’s work and several key executive function skills. SEEKING is one of those systems (known in Motional as Subdomains) measured within the Social Engagement Domain.

Setting | A setting refers to one site where Motional is used e.g. a school.

Sidebar | The blue/purple menu bar that is permanently visible on the left of every page within Motional and provides navigation buttons such as Participant, Groups and Support Centre. Please note that there is great debate in the Motional office...is it blue or purple?!

Snapshot | A Snapshot is an assessment of a single Participant at a specific point in time. It captures a Participant’s emotional health, wellbeing and Executive Functioning. The questions we ask in Snapshots all have descriptors (Always/Never Statements) so staff know what they mean and how to answer them - Motional is designed to be easy to use by all staff, not just SENDCos or specific people who've been on a training course. Snapshots are generally done by staff about children, and then they can create a Program of activities and relationship strategies that will target specific emotional systems for that child.

Social Defence | Social Defence is a Domain that contains the systems (Subdomains) that when overactive 'block' quality of life and in particular learning. The Social Defence Domain includes:

• The RAGE Subdomain: when overactive we see anger which blocks learning
• The FEAR Subdomain: when overactive we see anxiety which blocks learning
• The PANIC/GRIEF Subdomain: when overactive we see problems with depression / sadness or experience of traumatic loss which block learning.

Social Engagement | The Social Engagement system is a Domain that contains the Subdomains of:

• CARE: the child’s capacity for compassion toward self and others and Social Engagement skills in general
• SEEKING: the child’s energised engagement in life and learning, level of enthusiasm, curiosity and desire to seek knowledge
• PLAY: the child’s capacity to be able to play with ideas (creativity) and to be playful in relationships, meeting others in joy as appropriate.

Steps Along the Way Ltd  | Our official company name

Subdomain | A Subdomain is a series of questions linked to a system in the brain for Participant Snapshots (e.g. CARE). Subdomains are brought together to form Domains.

Team | A Team refers to a single Motional account and all the Team Members (Users and Team Admins) that have access to it.

Team Admin | A Team Admin is a user with additional rights that include  the authority to make changes to the access rights of others, and the capacity to delete information that other users have created.

Team Dashboard | The Team Dashboard, located at the top of the Team page of the Sidebar, contains information about your Team and its subscription to Motional.

Tool | the term Tool refers to Motional and the actions undertaken within it.

Universal Snapshot/Groupshot | The easiest and quickest Snapshot that looks at Social Engagement, Social Defence and Executive Functioning. It is a ‘whole-brain’ approach and helps to measure  wellbeing across the age-spectrum and is designed in particular for work with larger groups such as classes, and for individuals where time is more limited.  A Universal Groupshot undertaken termly for every class, combined with individual Snapshots for those children identified through the Groupshot process, is recommended as the most effective approach.

User | A User is any individual who has a login to use Motional.