Description
Using the principles modelled through Marvin’s Story Time Show to support learners with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs.
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Course Overview
This five-session online course is designed to help teachers, teaching assistants and wider professionals develop the knowledge, confidence and practical skills needed to support children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs.
Drawing upon the research by Professor Rachel Pilling and Gwyn McCormack underpinning Marvin’s Story Time Show and Positive Eye’s specialist approaches, participants will develop a deeper understanding of how multi-sensory learning and accessible literacy can support communication, engagement and participation for learners with complex needs.
The course focuses on practical strategies that can be implemented immediately within educational settings. Participants will learn how to create more accessible learning environments, support visual access, use stories and storytelling across the curriculum, and develop meaningful multi-sensory learning experiences that meet individual learner needs.
This course builds capacity by helping educators understand, adopt, adapt and embed inclusive, vision-friendly and multi-sensory approaches that improve engagement, participation and learning outcomes for children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is suitable for:
- Teachers
- Teaching Assistants
- SENDCos
- Teachers of the Visually Impaired
- Specialist Support Staff
- Curriculum Leads
- Early Years Practitioners
- Professionals supporting children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs
Key Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
- Develop a deeper understanding of how children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs learn.
- Create more accessible and engaging learning environments.
- Use multi-sensory approaches to support communication and participation.
- Apply vision-friendly strategies throughout teaching and learning.
- Use storytelling to support curriculum access and engagement.
- Develop confidence creating simple characters, objects and story ideas.
- Extend learning opportunities across home, school and the wider curriculum.
- Develop confidence in using multi-sensory learning to support accessible literacy across the curriculum.
Dates of Course
Session 1: Thursday 7th January 2027
The Foundations of a Multi-Sensory Approach to Learning
Session 2: Thursday 28th January 2027
Understanding Accessibility, Engagement and Anticipation
Session 3: Thursday 4th February 2027
Supporting Visual Access and Creating Vision-Friendly Learning Environments
Session 4: Thursday 11th February 2027
Using Accessible Literacy Across the Curriculum
Session 5: Thursday 25th February 2027
Creating a Character and Story Idea That Learners Will Love
Course Content
Session 1: The Foundations of Multi-Sensory Learning
This session explores how children learn through sensory experiences and how a multi-sensory approach can support communication, concept development, participation and early literacy.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Understand how auditory, tactile, visual and movement experiences support learning and engagement.
- Explore how multi-sensory experiences contribute to communication, concept development and early literacy.
- Identify practical strategies to support sensory learning within everyday classroom activities.
Content
- Auditory and language development
- Concept building
- Tactile discrimination
- Fine motor skills
- Book and story skills
- Visual skill development
Outcome
Participants will understand the foundations of a multi-sensory approach to learning and its role in supporting engagement, communication and literacy development.
Session 2: Understanding Accessibility, Engagement and Anticipation
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Understand common barriers to learning and participation.
- Recognise the role of anticipation, repetition and familiarity in supporting engagement.
- Identify practical ways to make learning activities more accessible and motivating.
Content
- Barriers to learning
- Understanding engagement and participation
- Anticipation and repetition
- Creating motivating learning experiences
Outcome
Participants will be able to identify barriers to learning and apply practical strategies to increase engagement and participation.
Session 3: Supporting Visual Access and Creating Vision-Friendly Learning Environments
This session focuses on supporting learners with CVI, Visual Impairment and visual processing difficulties through practical environmental and resource adaptations. Participants will also explore how observation can help identify individual visual preferences, looking behaviours and engagement during learning activities, including Marvin’s Story Time Show.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Understand how CVI and visual impairment can affect access to learning.
- Recognise what to observe when children are engaging with Marvin’s Story Time Show, including looking behaviours, visual preferences, attention and engagement.
- Apply practical strategies to create more vision-friendly environments and resources.
Content
- Understanding CVI
- Reducing visual complexity
- Supporting visual attention
- Observing looking behaviours and visual preferences
- High-contrast resources
- Vision-friendly learning environments
Outcome
Participants will develop confidence in observing and understanding children’s visual responses and in creating learning environments and resources that support visual access and engagement.
Session 4: Using Accessible Literacy Across the Curriculum
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Understand how storytelling can support communication, engagement and participation.
- Explore the features of accessible and inclusive stories.
- Identify opportunities to extend story-based learning across the curriculum.
Content
- Why storytelling matters
- Accessible story structures
- Repetition and anticipation
- Characters, songs and catchphrases
- Extending learning across the curriculum
Outcome
Participants will understand how storytelling can be used as a powerful tool to support learning, communication and participation.
Session 5: Creating a Character and Story Idea That Learners Will Love
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Create one simple character and one motivating object to support engagement and anticipation.
- Develop a basic story idea using repetition, familiarity and participation.
- Build confidence in creating personalised learning experiences for their learners.
Content
- Creating a simple character
- Creating a motivating object or prop
- Developing a story idea
- Building anticipation and participation
- Linking stories to curriculum themes
Outcome
Participants will leave with a simple character, object and story idea that can be adapted and developed for their own learners.
Programme Impact
Recordings of Sessions
Handouts and Powerpoint
To further enhance the learning experience, the course is accompanied by a comprehensive downloadable folder containing resource sheets. These sheets serve as an extensive resource bank, providing valuable materials for participants to reference and utilise in the future.
PowerPoint presentations used during the course are not shared with participants. Instead, the resource sheets are intended to offer greater depth and practical value, reflecting the hands-on nature of the course delivery.
From Practice to Impact
Want to see these approaches in action?
Our blog, How Marvin’s Story Time Show Builds Capacity in Families and Educators, shares real examples of how schools, families and professionals have used vision-friendly, multi-sensory and accessible literacy approaches to improve engagement, participation, communication and learning outcomes.
The examples demonstrate many of the strategies explored throughout this course and show how building adult confidence and knowledge can create lasting change for children with complex needs.
→ Read the blog and discover the impact of capacity building in practice.
Related Positive Eye Training and Resources
You may also be interested in:
- Positive Looking Visual Skills Course
- Positive Looking 2 Visual Perception Skills Course
- Supporting a Child with Vision Impairment Course
- Braille and Tactile Learner Course
- Step-back Train the Trainer Programme
Why Choose Positive Eye?
Positive Eye has supported schools, local authorities and specialist services for many years through high-quality training, consultancy and practical resources.
Our training combines:
- Contemporary evidence-informed practice
- Real-life educational experience
- Practical and achievable strategies
- Specialist expertise in vision impairment education
- A strong focus on participation, independence and meaningful outcomes
We are committed to helping practitioners create meaningful learning opportunities that enable children and young people to thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this course designed for?
This course is suitable for teachers, teaching assistants, SENDCos, Teachers of the Visually Impaired, specialist support staff, curriculum leads, early years practitioners and other professionals supporting children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs.
Do I need to be familiar with Marvin’s Story Time Show?
No. The course uses principles modelled through Marvin’s Story Time Show, but participants do not need prior experience of the programme to benefit from the training.
What will I learn?
Participants will explore:
- Multi-sensory approaches to learning
- Accessibility, engagement and anticipation
- Vision-friendly practice
- Supporting learners with CVI and visual impairment
- Storytelling across the curriculum
- Creating characters, objects and story ideas to support learning
Is the course practical?
Yes. The focus is on practical strategies that can be implemented immediately within classrooms and learning environments. Participants will develop ideas, approaches and resources that can be adapted for their own learners.
How will this course benefit my learners?
The course aims to increase educator confidence and capacity, leading to more accessible learning opportunities, improved engagement, increased participation, enhanced communication and more meaningful learning experiences.
Will the course help me support learners with CVI?
Yes all sessions will provide a deeper understanding of accessible literacy opportunities for children with CVI. In addition, one session focuses specifically on supporting visual access and creating vision-friendly learning environments, including understanding CVI, reducing visual complexity and observing visual behaviours.
Will I create my own story resources?
Yes. Participants will develop a simple character, motivating object and story idea that can be adapted and developed within their own setting.
Can the approaches be used across the curriculum?
Absolutely. The course explores how storytelling, multi-sensory learning and accessible teaching approaches can be embedded across a range of curriculum areas.
Is this course based on research?
Yes. The course draws upon the research underpinning Marvin’s Story Time Show, along with Positive Eye’s extensive experience supporting children with PMLD, CVI, Visual Impairment and Complex Needs.
Can this course be delivered to a whole school or service?
Yes. The course can be delivered to individual settings, groups of schools, local authorities and specialist services. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
How is the course delivered?
The course can be delivered online or in person. Please contact us to discuss the most suitable option for your setting.
Ready to Build Capacity Through Multi-Sensory Learning and Accessible Literacy?
Gain practical strategies, vision-friendly approaches and greater confidence in creating accessible, engaging and meaningful learning experiences for children with complex needs.
