Description
Award-winning, internationally used, changing practice
The Positive Looking Visual Skills Programme is Positive Eye’s flagship award-winning resource, designed to help practitioners identify, support and develop visual skills in children with Vision Impairment (VI), Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI), SEND, PMLD and Complex Needs.
Developed by Qualified Teacher of Vision Impairment (QTVI) Gwyn McCormack, Positive Looking provides a practical, easy-to-use framework for understanding, observing and promoting visual development. The programme focuses on essential visual skills including visual awareness, visual attention, fixation, tracking, scanning and visually directed reaching, helping practitioners pinpoint a child’s visual strengths and areas requiring support.
Used by schools, specialist settings, therapists and vision professionals internationally, Positive Looking enables educators to create meaningful, measurable and achievable visual learning opportunities that support engagement, participation and progress.
Whether you are working with a child with vision impairment, CVI or complex learning needs, Positive Looking provides a clear pathway for embedding visual skill development within everyday teaching and learning.
What Practitioner’s Say About the Positive Looking Visual Skills Programme
“Positive Looking has transformed our whole-school approach to vision.
Staff have a greater understanding of visual skills; children are more engaged in learning and vision is now embedded throughout the curriculum.” Assistant Head
Want to see the impact on children’s outcomes?
Who Is Positive Looking For?
- QTVIs
- QTMSIs
- Teachers
- Teaching Assistants
- SENCOs
- Therapists
- Professionals supporting children with VI, CVI, SEND, PMLD and Complex Needs
Why Use the Positive Looking Visual Skills Programme?
Positive Looking helps practitioners:
- Understand how visual skills develop
- Identify barriers to visual engagement and participation
- Support children with Vision Impairment and CVI more effectively
- Deliver targeted visual skill interventions
- Monitor and evaluate progress over time
- Create meaningful visual learning opportunities
- Embed vision within the curriculum and daily routines
- Develop a consistent whole-school approach to visual skill development
The programme provides clear observation points, achievable targets and practical activities that can be adapted according to age, ability and individual need.
Research led by Professor Rachel Pilling and Gwyn McCormack, highlights the importance of meaningful activities, accessible learning environments and responsive support in promoting engagement, participation and successful learning outcomes for children and young people with complex needs. Read more about the research underpinning Positive Eye’s approach.
Supporting Children with Vision Impairment, CVI and SEND
Positive Looking is widely used to support children with:
- Vision Impairment (VI)
- Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI)
- SEND
- PMLD
- Complex Needs
- Multiple Disabilities
- Developmental Delay
The framework enables practitioners to identify how children use their vision, recognise areas requiring support and plan targeted activities that encourage the positive acquisition of visual skills.
What Does Positive Looking Include?
The programme includes:
- Visual skill assessment and observation guidance
- Visual awareness activities
- Visual attention activities
- Fixation activities
- Tracking activities
- Scanning activities
- Visual discrimination activities
- Example intervention sessions
- Suggested goals and targets
- Monitoring and evaluation frameworks
- Practical ideas using low-cost resources
- Independent Living Skills section
- Photographs and examples throughout
Positive Looking Training
Looking to develop your understanding further?
The Positive Looking Online Visual Skills Course demonstrates how to implement the programme within classrooms, specialist settings and everyday teaching practice.
Positive Eye Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the Positive Looking Visual Skills Programme suitable for?
Positive Looking is suitable for teachers, QTVIs, QTMSIs, teaching assistants, therapists, SENCOs and other professionals working with children with Vision Impairment, CVI, SEND, PMLD and Complex Needs.
How does Positive Looking support children with CVI?
The programme helps practitioners understand visual behaviours, identify areas of difficulty and develop targeted interventions that promote visual awareness, visual attention, fixation, tracking and scanning skills.
What visual skills does Positive Looking develop?
Positive Looking focuses on visual awareness, visual attention, fixation, tracking, scanning, visually directed reaching and visual discrimination skills.
Can Positive Looking be used across a whole school?
Yes. Many schools use Positive Looking as a whole-school framework for observing, developing and monitoring visual skills across the curriculum.
How can practitioners monitor progress?
The programme provides clear observation points, assessment guidance and practical frameworks for monitoring and evaluating visual skill development over time.
Is Positive Looking suitable for children with PMLD and Complex Needs?
Yes. The programme is widely used with children with PMLD, Complex Needs and multiple disabilities to support engagement, participation and visual development.
Ready to Move Vision Up the Agenda?
Discover why Positive Looking is an award-winning visual skills framework used by schools and professionals internationally to support children with Vision Impairment, CVI, SEND, PMLD and Complex Needs.
Download the Positive Looking Visual Skills Programme today.
Watch the 5 minute presentation to find out more about the Positive Looking Visual Skills Programme
