How Marvin’s Story Time Show Builds Capacity in Families and Educators Through Accessible Literacy

Marvin’s Story Time Show is more than an accessible literacy programme. It builds the capacity of families and educators to understand, accommodate and positively impact the learning experiences of children with PMLD, CVI, visual impairment and complex needs through multi-sensory learning, inclusive storytelling and accessible literacy approaches.

When educators and families first encounter Marvin’s Story Time Show, they often notice the colourful characters, catchy songs and extraordinary levels of engagement from children who may find traditional literacy activities difficult to access. However, the impact of the programme extends far beyond the children watching the show.

What makes Marvin’s Story Time Show so powerful is that it does not simply engage children. It helps families, teachers, teaching assistants and wider professionals develop a deeper understanding of how to accommodate and support the needs of children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs. Through observation, participation and repetition, adults learn practical strategies for accessible literacy that they can embed in their own practice, creating lasting changes in learning environments, teaching approaches and home experiences.

Why Building Capacity for Accessible Literacy Matters

Children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs often rely on the adults around them to remove barriers to learning.

For many learners, access is not simply about presenting information. It is about creating environments that support looking, listening, participation, anticipation and communication. It is about understanding how visual complexity affects learning, how repetition supports understanding and how meaningful interactions can encourage engagement.

Marvin’s Story Time Show models these approaches week after week, allowing adults to see inclusive strategies in action and witness the impact they have on children.

As a result, families and professionals begin to adapt their own practice, creating more accessible and meaningful learning opportunities.

Many of the approaches demonstrated through Marvin’s Story Time Show, including accessible literacy, multi-sensory learning, reducing visual clutter and creating vision-friendly learning environments, are explored in greater depth through our Building Capacity Through Multi-Sensory Learning and Accessible Literacy Course.

How Does Marvin’s Story Time Show Build Capacity for Accessible Literacy?

• Develop a deeper understanding of how children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs access learning.
• Recognise and respond to subtle signs of engagement, participation and communication.
• Understand the importance of anticipation, repetition and familiar routines.
• Create more accessible and motivating learning environments.
• Reduce visual clutter and make learning materials easier to see.
• Use high-contrast resources to support visual attention.
• Apply vision-friendly teaching strategies across everyday practice.
• Use multi-sensory approaches that combine vision, sound, movement, touch and interaction.
• Build confidence in adapting activities for individual learners.
• Develop skills in observing children’s visual preferences and responses.
• Create meaningful opportunities for communication and interaction.
• Increase participation for learners who may find traditional approaches difficult to access.
• Learn practical strategies that can be immediately implemented at home and in school.
• Transfer successful approaches beyond story sessions and into the wider curriculum.
• Design personalised learning experiences based on individual interests and strengths.
• Create their own inclusive stories, characters, songs and resources.
• Extend learning into curriculum topics and everyday activities.
• Build consistency between home and school.
• Strengthen partnerships with families.
• Increase staff confidence and professional knowledge.
• Share inclusive practice across classrooms, schools and local authorities.
• Create sustainable changes in teaching and learning.
• Improve outcomes for children through increased engagement, communication, anticipation, participation and learning.

Marvin’s Story Time Show builds capacity for accessible literacy by modelling inclusive, vision-friendly and multi-sensory approaches that families and educators can adopt, adapt and embed within their own practice, leading to lasting improvements in accessibility, engagement and learning outcomes.

Families Learn Alongside Their Children

One of the strengths of Marvin’s Story Time Show is that families are able to carry the learning beyond the screen.

For example, a Teacher of the Visually Impaired encouraged families attending a Stay and Play session to:

• Sing Marvin songs together.
• Introduce favourite characters.
• Create red gloves with yellow pompoms.
• Make their own story characters.
• Watch episodes together as a group.
• Use familiar phrases and songs throughout daily routines.

Through these activities, families begin to understand why repetition, high contrast, anticipation and familiar routines are so important for learning.

Rather than simply watching their child enjoy a story, families learn how to recreate successful approaches within the home environment.

One parent explained:

“She adores rainbow spins and I can incorporate the ‘whoopeedeedoo’ into her everyday play. Her whole body tenses with excitement the very moment she hears Gwynnie-Gwyn-Gwyn. It’s difficult to put into words, but there is a marked difference in her reaction to the Story Time Show compared with other programming.”

The parent went on to describe increased vocalisations, interaction with characters, participation in crafts and ongoing engagement long after the story had ended.

This is capacity building in action. The family is not just accessing a resource. They are developing confidence and skills that support their child’s learning every day.

Teaching Assistants Become Champions of Inclusive Practice

The impact of Marvin’s Story Time Show does not stop with individual classrooms.

One teaching assistant supported implementation by:

• Sharing information about the programme.
• Emailing colleagues and schools.
• Distributing flyers.
• Supporting classes to watch regularly.
• Taking photographs of children’s responses.
• Encouraging consistency across settings.
• Collecting evidence of impact.

Through this process, staff become more confident identifying engagement, visual attention, anticipation and communication.

They begin to notice what motivates individual learners and how small adaptations can lead to significant changes in participation.

In this way, the approaches spread far beyond a single class and begin to influence wider educational practice.

Teachers Adopt Multi-Sensory Approaches to Learning

A key reason for the success of Marvin’s Story Time Show is its multi-sensory approa

• Visual elements.
• Auditory cues.
• Songs and rhythm.
• Movement.
• Repetition.
• Props and characters.
• Opportunities for interaction.

Teachers frequently report that these approaches inspire them to think differently about teaching and learning.

One teacher explained:

“The impact of Marvin’s Story Time Show has been significant on both the learning of the learners in my class and on my own teaching practice.”

The teacher observed increased visual attention, anticipation and engagement but also recognised the wider implications for curriculum delivery.

By seeing how stories could be brought to life through sensory experiences, staff began adapting these approaches to create meaningful learning opportunities throughout the school day.

The result was not simply increased engagement during story time, but a broader understanding of how children learn through sensory experiences and meaningful interactions.

Teachers Create Their Own Inclusive Stories

One of the most significant outcomes is that educators do not simply use Marvin’s Story Time Show.

They build upon it.

One teacher described how staff developed their own characters and storylines to support curriculum learning:

“It has inspired staff creativity across the setting. We have developed our own versions of characters and introduced new ones, using the structure of the programme to create stories that link directly to the themes within our curriculum.”

For example, following a story about Cool Col’s Garden Adventure, learning was extended through weekly activities exploring different plants found in a garden.

The familiar story structure supported anticipation and engagement while helping staff create meaningful curriculum links.

This is perhaps the clearest example of capacity building.

Staff move from delivering a story to designing their own accessible learning opportunities informed by the same principles.

Educators Create More Accessible Learning Environments

Many teachers also report making significant changes to their learning environments after engaging with Marvin’s Story Time Show.

These changes include:

• Using black backgrounds.
• Reducing visual clutter.
• Presenting one item at a time.
• Creating high-contrast resources.
• Wearing dark clothing to reduce distraction.
• Using bright, visually accessible materials.
• Giving children more time to look and respond.

One educator explained:

“I have embedded the approaches from Gwyn and Marvin’s Story Time Show into my practice throughout all sessions, using big bright high contrast resources, decluttering the environment using black cloths, using black backgrounds to make resources easy to see and using high energy and differing tones in my voice.”

These changes reflect a deeper understanding of accessibility and demonstrate how the approaches can be applied well beyond story sessions.

Improved Outcomes for Children

Ultimately, the goal of building adult capacity is improving outcomes for children. When families and educators become more knowledgeable and confident, children benefit.  As adults develop their understanding and adapt their practice, learners experience more accessible, meaningful and engaging opportunities to participate and learn.

Schools have reported:

• Increased engagement.
• Greater visual attention.
• Improved anticipation.
• Longer periods of sustained participation.
• Increased communication.
• More meaningful interactions.
• Greater confidence within learning activities.

One school shared:

“The pupils are still as engaged as ever and, since introducing our own gloves, we’ve seen an increase in some of the pupils ‘locking on’ and focusing.”

The school also described a pupil who would not usually tolerate sitting for extended periods remaining engaged for an entire 30-minute session.

Another practitioner reported:

“The impact has been massive. They are engaged, reaching out for the resources, using their voices to get my attention, signing and using their hands and feet to join in with the story.”

Others described learners laughing, clapping, participating more readily and demonstrating increased visual attention during sessions.

For many children with complex needs, these outcomes represent significant and meaningful achievements.

More Than a Story Time Show

Marvin’s Story Time Show is far more than an engaging literacy programme.

It is a model of inclusive practice that helps adults understand how children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs learn best.

• Families learn how to continue successful approaches at home.
• Teaching assistants become champions of inclusive practice.
• Teachers develop confidence using multi-sensory approaches to learning.
• Educators create their own stories, characters and curriculum experiences.
• Schools redesign environments to improve accessibility.
• Most importantly, children experience greater opportunities to engage, communicate, participate and learn.

When adults gain the knowledge and confidence to make learning more accessible, the impact extends far beyond story time. It creates lasting change across classrooms, homes and communities, ensuring that more children can access meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences every day.

From Research to Practice