Wigan teacher of 40 years invents ‘revolutionary’ new way to teach children with special educational needs

Marvin’s Story Time Show is an online resource devised by Gwyneth McCormack, who has 40 years' experience as a leading international special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teacher.

She used her insight, skills, knowledge and creativity to create a literacy model that stimulates and engages children with SEND.

After almost three years, research and studies show that these children now for the first time have something that works for them. Many children with complex needs can watch independently for the whole hour without moving.

Featuring a bright and colourful main character called Marvin, the show follows his everyday adventures that provide a starting point from which to build literacy.

Created in lockdown to stimulate and entertain the most isolated children and their families in the USA, Marvin’s Story Time Show will air on August 27 to its first UK audience, and is the only story time show for children with SEND.

Gwyn, 62, designs, hosts and creates the live shows, which have been taking place for a USA audience since March 2020, which was born out of shows broadcast during lockdown.

Due to the success of the show in the USA, from which schools and families reported that children with the most limiting conditions are more engaged and showing improvement with increased participation and attention, Gwyn has been developing Marvin’s Story Time Show for a UK audience and 95 characters later, the online show, which plays on a safe, secure, advert free channel, starts this August.

Gwyn also features in the show as storyteller Gwynnie-Gwyn-Gwyn to capture attention by using colourful, interactive, and engaging words, noises and motions to capture the children’s attention. Pom poms, huge colourful hats and red bobble gloves designed for children with vision impairment are also used to engage attention.

Gwyn said: "I created Marvin’s Story Time Show for the most overlooked children and their families, whose needs are still not met. I am incredibly proud that the new season is about to go live because I have created this show from the bottom of my heart entirely for children with special needs and with many years of knowing how to teach and stimulate children.

"Children with special needs want to have fun, experience joy and participate in story time alongside their typically developing siblings, family members and friends and this show enables them to do just that."

The new season of Marvin’s Story Time Show, The Big Sea Adventure, which is hosted on its own channel with no ads, comments or trolling, starts on August 27. Subscribers can sign up for £9.99 (families) and £65 (schools) and there is the chance to watch previous episodes on repeat.

It can be found online by searching for Marvin’s Story Time Show.

A season’s subscription also includes inclusion into a closed FB support group, downloadable assets including print off sheets and home learning tips and craft ideas to bring the episodes live at home and extend learning.