Storytelling In Your Area - West Midlands: 2015 - 2016

Between 2015-2016 we organised the following multi-sensory storytelling sessions

Oak Wood Primary School, Nuneaton. 29/11/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 43 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from six teachers who judged that all bar three of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”, two as “4/5 – Good” and one as “3/5 – Average”. Comments were:

• "Enjoyed the sensory visual aids. All touched items appropriately."
• "All children joined in with the story - they all interacted with resources. One pupil happily sat and touched resources. Gave adults ideas of how to plan and teach story sessions in a multi-sensory way."
• "Excellent resources and storytelling. Most sat very well and listened. Thank you! All enjoyed feeling/touch/ pressing resources."
• "It helped all pupils to engage for longer periods due to the interactive resources and textures of the pictures. The pupils loved the water resource. They also imitated what to do with various resources e.g. ice cream which was fantastic. One of our pupils really giggled and laughed in enjoyment which was a fantastic reaction for him. It will allow them the opportunity to access a variety of different activities in a more beneficial way. It is a very enjoyable way."
• "The different material boards worked really well as they fulfilled the children's sensory need. Some children were scared at some points but after re-assurance they enjoyed the particular sensory board (shaver and moving spider/urchin). The session allowed them to experience different materials that related to each story. The children are now able to relate certain objects to places."
• "Pupils were engaged and focused on the story. One pupil who thought it would be boring really enjoyed it. It helps to build their communication skills, participation and awareness."

Overley Hall School, Telford. 14/11/16

Our Storyteller ran nine multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 30 children with severe learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from eight teachers who judged that all bar three of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Seven rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and one as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "Both students were engaged watching and reacting to the storytelling, One student who finds it difficult to engage was focussed throughout and joined in with the sensory objects. [In the longer term this will] will encourage communication skills and maybe higher students will be able to tell a simple story."
• "All engaged with resources. The youngest pupil, who had been difficult to work with this morning, was very interested and focussed. The Storyteller engaged pupils and slowly built up her expectations of them - excellent! [In the longer term this will help with] building attention skills, turn taking and listening skills."
• "Both students were engaged, watching and reacting. The Storyteller was brilliant at telling stories and interacting with the students. [In the longer term this will help with] turn taking and working with others."
• "All students were engaged watching the Storyteller and taking turns to interact with the different pages. She is an excellent storyteller. [In the longer term this will help with] counting, turn taking, working with others and following instructions.
• "One participant thoroughly enjoyed the interactive books, especially the snakes. All three participants engaging in the story. One participant was in crisis, but one story engaged him. [In the longer term this will help with] keeping their attention and may improve listening skills."
• "The students learnt to take turns and enjoyed the tactile experience. The story was well read by the Storyteller who seemed very focussed and interested."
• "The children were very focussed. One student seemed more focussed than normal. [In the longer term this will] help build communication skills."
• "The children all engaged well with the Storyteller, using props in each story. All interacted well, H and D sat throughout and enjoyed the stories. In the future maybe some of the students would use the Bag Books to tell their own stories."

Marshlands School, Stafford. 01/11/16

Our Storyteller ran seven multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 49 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from seven teachers who judged that all bar one of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All seven rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. Comments were:

• "[The session helped with] the sensory experience of being able to touch look and smell various objects. Lots of fun! Very interactive! Equipment was lovely to explore. Pupils explored the different objects and gave lovely reactions [In the longer term this will help] extend concentration and focus skills."
• "They got to experience lots of different sounds smells and textures. Talked about things that some might not experience. It was all really good. A bit more time might have been better. One sat still a lot longer than expected & interacted with all the props. Another really enjoyed it and had a smile on his face [In the longer term] they might enjoy stories more and listen for longer."
• "[The session helped with] smiling, engagement, taking part. Some said they liked it. All animated. One child who didn't want to sit came to join [In the longer term this will help with] speaking and listening skills, social skills, multi-sensory approach."
• " [The children were] engaged, focused and each child was allowed to "have a go" at each of the pages. One boy really enjoyed the story and was laughing at having the spooky cover of the ghost ride put on his head. Another child really enjoyed the squirting of the water at the end of the Fairground story [In the longer term] rhey will be more receptive to future multi-sensory stories."
• "Allowed all pupils to access story. Physical objects made stories more "real". All loved water during The Fairground. One boy particularly enjoyed dancing at the "seaside song".
• "Storytelling with multi-sensory approach is really good for the children. Everything was great. All children really loved it. They all interacted better than I thought. It has made me think about my storytelling."
• "Lots of sensory and children involvement. All children will remember the beach story. Pupil E interacted lots and enjoyed it, they sat for the whole session and repeated parts of the story  M interacted the most, enjoying all of it and enjoying waiting for his turn."

Walton Hall Academy, Stafford. 13/10/16

Our Storyteller ran five multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 30 children with severe learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All five rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. Comments were:

• "Very good interaction from all students. Very sensory and visual which was very appropriate for this group of students. Very well delivered to the students. All students joined in which was very good. Excellent session. All of the students joined in, lots of laughter and touching objects which they may not of wanted to do. It encourages good participation, interacting, looking and listening and feeling objects."
• "Wonderful sensory stories. Most students resonded very positively. A couple were hesitant but coped. Helped students understand storyline using sensory input."
• "The sensory element was great for the children. Great to explore new sensations and handling different materials. J and C became very involved with the whole experience. [In the longer term] using sensory items in class will help the children to be more creative and help with building vocabulary."
• "The pupils can participate in the storytelling. The pupils loved being interactive. Lots of laughter. Going forward it showed that literacy is fun and can be interactive."
• "The session was very accessible for our SLD group. All children were engaged and showed understanding and enjoyment during the session. [In the longer term this will] encourage looking and listening in class."

Brays School, Birmingham. 10/10/16

Our Storyteller ran seven multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 38 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities. We received feedback from seven teachers who judged that all bar two of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Five rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and two as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "The children were all PMLD so they loved the sensory input. All showed great responses. M responded really well to all which surprised me. It helped them to explore things visually. Used their senses."
• "The session was beneficial due to the slow pace with the sensory elements. The students were joining in independently and showing facial expression."
• "Resources excellent and very engaging. Would be great to have more of these in school."
• "Some different storytelling. Staff sat back. Storyteller picked up on student with VI. I was surprised by the reactions from three students."
• "One student is normally reserved but the storyteller brought her out of herself. The Storyteller was brilliant! The children were giggling with the storyteller and responsive. [In the longer term this will help with] meeting new people in a new activity."
• "The students loved listening to someone different. They let the storyteller lead and didn’t grab out. A positive experience."
• "The children enjoyed the music switch. They benefited by being able to feel story boards. One girl in particular reacted well all session. It was beneficial to get one to one time to feel objects."

James Brindley School - Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham. 05/10/16

Our Storyteller ran multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of six children. The teacher judged that all of the children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling and rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. They commented "The pupils all showed preferences. They understood cause and effect. Some children participated with increased independence. Success with all our pupils. One pupil has taken a long while to interact with a staff member but interacted immediately with sensory stories. They helped to assess pupils likes and dislikes and help to identify specific pupils behaviours."

Langley School, Sutton Coldfield. 27/06/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 43 children with severe learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and two as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "Great interactive and sensory based storytelling session."
• "Children enjoyed the story time."
• "Children enjoyed engaging with all the props including the smells."

The Round Oak School & Support Service, Warwick. 09/06/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 39 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from six teachers who judged that all bar one of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and three as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "Well engaged in all activities and kept calm. Every pupil said they enjoyed the stories and they would like them again."
• "All of the students enjoyed the stories. They especially enjoyed the story at the seaside. Thank you for making learning more enjoyable."
• "Because of time constraints it sometimes felt a little rushed. It would be good for the children to spend more time investigating resources. Concept very good. A visual clue to accompany is great for children to put things into context."
• "The storyteller was able to keep the students engaged and focused. All students in the class were engaged, laughing and enjoying all the props and sensory equipment. Fabulous experience. Students clapped and praised the Storyteller for his stories."
• "Feel it would be good for those that require the sensory experience rather than a story. Seems to be aimed for primary but the overall experience made the students laugh. 6 out of 8 shouted for more!"
• "All of the students were engaged. They all laughed at the funny bits. Enjoyed sensory aspects. The storyteller included all the students."

Pitcheroak School, Redditch. 24/05/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 35 children with severe learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all bar four of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Two rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and three as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "Very good. Children really enjoyed the session."
• "Thank you. Children appeared interested and enjoyed interaction."
• "Some of the pupils found the pace too slow and the space confused them. This is something I can change now that I am familiar with session. Most of the children liked the sensory boards."

Sunfield School, Stourbridge. 19/05/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 23 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from two teachers who judged that all the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Both rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. One added, " I loved the book bags! The student was very engaged and able to involve himself to the best of his ability at present. He was responsive to the resources and language used. Very happy." The other commented, "Presented in a larger group which meant larger waiting so students lost interest between turns however would be much more engaged in a smaller group. Great resources - script a great idea to support staff who are less expressive/confident."

Victoria School and Specialist Arts College, Birmingham. 13/05/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 61 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities.

Chadsgrove School, Bromsgrove. 29/04/16

Our Storyteller ran five multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 42 children with profound & multiple learning disabilities. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all 42 children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Two rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and three as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "As a school we go to work with pupils from P1 to beyond GCSE levels so a wide range of abilities. There are 4 PMLD classes approximately 38 children."
• "This was a larger group than originally planned so apologies to storyteller but staff and pupils enjoyed, so thanks."
• "Appropriate for small groups - we had 6 pupils (normally 7) and that would be the maximum, due to the waiting in between. Resource were really good, especially the tactile and smelly ones."

Calthorpe Teaching Academy, Birmingham. 20/04/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 55 children with severe learning disabilities. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Four rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and one as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "A very enjoyable experience by all."
• "Good sensory story. Enjoyed a variety of different stimuli within the story. Storyteller was very good with the students considering he didn't know them. Our students responded really well to him."
• "The storyboards were really good for the children. Very durable and ones for each sense. Children enjoyed using them. The storyteller was friendly but could use more expression and tone when telling the story."

Meadows School, Leek. 24/03/16

Our Storyteller ran five multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 29 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all 29 children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All five rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. Comments were:

• "Excellent idea, loved every minute. Really good storyteller. Thank you."
• "The books were excellent. We started the session with one pupil very agitated and one crying. As the story started they became very interested and were following the pages as they went round. They were all engaged with the sensory resources. At the end of the session we were all calm and very happy. A lovely session. Thank you."
• "Pupils all enjoyed the sensory experience of the stories."

Old Park School, Brierley Hill. 22/03/16

Our Storyteller ran seven multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 52 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from eight teachers who judged that all 52 children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Five rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and three as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "Lovely enjoyable experience. All of our PMLD children would enjoy this experience but so would a large number of other children. Our children enjoyed interacting. Full of smiles, very well thought of. Really good."
• "Very enjoyable session - all pupils given opportunity to participate."
• "Seaside story - The children really enjoyed the storytelling session. They listened to the seaside story, lots of lovely resources, tactile and noisy objects good and also resources with smells used, good for visually impaired children also sound and feeling items. A big book was not used but good use of resources used for the story. What Am I - The children very interested, lots of interaction with different objects associated with the story used. Again lots of items to touch, smell and interact with. Overall really enjoyable storytelling for the children. Thank you."
• "PMLD & complex medical needs class EYFS. Stories appropriate. Resources were fantastic. Could resources be lent out to school for us to do with our pupils over a half term? PMLD pupils need more time to process and repetitive learning on order to learn and make progress, so if we could have the resources again this would be even more beneficial to the pupils."
• "The tactile panels were really good for our children. They enjoyed being able to be part of the phrases of the story. Our storyteller was very enthusiastic and relaxed with our children. He made the time to allow each child to have a turn. He almost remembered each child's name."
• "Very good interaction and sensory prompting."
• "All the children were engaged and happy to get involved. The children found the real benefit of the stories as they can get fully involved. Every child got involved in the story, touching different objects and materials. The stories were very long so some of the children were losing focus. The objects were very good and engaging for the children throughout the story."
• "Air con made some of the sounds difficult to hear - not storyteller's fault! An enjoyable treat appropriate for all ages across our school."

Oak Wood Secondary School, Nuneaton. 09/03/16

Our Storyteller ran five multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 40 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from four teachers who judged that all the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All four rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. Comments were:

• "All pupils really engaged."
• "All pupils engaged well in 2 stories - regardless of levels. Great whole group session."
• "Very much enjoyed by pupils and staff. Thank you!"
• "A fantastic session - thank you."

Hamilton School, Birmingham. 08/03/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 26 children with profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and two as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "I think the storytelling was good. All three children were engaged and were exploring all the sensory objects that were put in front of them. They seemed to enjoy the stories as they were calm and most children enjoyed the adult's interaction."
• "Stories are well resourced. Matching symbols could extend learning beyond P6."
• "Possible use of symbols for example "Smell". Loved the elephant trunk!"
• "All the stories were very good and well delivered. All the children were engaged and were interested/focused throughout the majority of the storytime."

Woodlands School, Coleshill. 01/03/16

Our Storyteller ran five multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 29 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all 29 children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and two as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "All enjoyed the storytelling."
• "An excellent and very enjoyable story session. Thank you."
• "All the children sat lovely and joined in."

The Fountains Primary School, Burton-On-Trent. 05/02/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 25 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from three teachers who judged that all the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. One added, "Jellyfish class really enjoyed the experience. [The] fantastic storyteller really brought the stories to life." Another commented, "Lovely sensory stories. All children enjoyed and engaged in."

Reynalds Cross School, Solihull. 01/02/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 43 children with profound & multiple learning disabilities. We received feedback from three teachers who judged that all the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Two rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and one as “4/5 – Good”. One added, "Highly suitable for students. Motivated by resources and engaged throughout. Delivered well with students in mind at all times. Sensitive to needs of students e.g. knowing one of them didn't like clippers. A really enjoyable session. Thank you!" Another commented, "All children were well engaged throughout the activity and attention was recalled through frequent opportunities to interact. Possible additions: whiteboard projector with Fairground/London images showing throughout. Corresponding music playing in background. The children got a lot out of the session, and the storyteller took time to engage them all. Thank you."

The Bridge School Business and Enterprise College, Telford. 27/01/16

Our Storyteller ran five multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 42 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from three teachers who judged that all the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. Comments were:

• "An excellent session. All of the children got something out of it and the storyteller was fantastic. Thank you."
• "Wonderful story! Children and staff loved it! Thank you."
• "This was a fantastic sensory story session and it was great for the children to explore the props. One child found the change a bit too much and had to be removed so perhaps we could have it in our own classroom next time."

Rowden House School, Bromyard. 19/01/16

Our Storyteller ran two multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 9 children (the school only has 14 pupils in total) with severe learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from two teachers who judged that all 9 children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. One rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and the other as “4/5 – Good”. One added, "There was great interaction with all of the pupils in my session. They interacted with all of the cards from each story and they listened well to each story. If possible, more age appropriate stories apart from the ones shown today would be good. More signing would also be good as the storyteller tells their story. If workshop sessions become available, I think my students would benefit from making their own Bag Books." The other commented, "Really good response from the students. Really grabbed their attention. Great props to go with each story. I already use 2 Bag Book stories with my group (Gran's Visit and The Princess and the Cat) and it is always a lively and enjoyable session."

Green Park School, Bilston. 18/01/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 50 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities. We received feedback from six teachers who judged that all bar four of the 50 children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Four rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and two as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "We feel all of our pupils would benefit from Bag Books in different ways. [The Storyteller] was fantastic. She brought lots of energy and all my pupils were engaged even when they were watching other pupils explore the props. The story was very interactive, which all of my pupils enjoyed! Great way to start our day."
• "Lovely interaction with pupils. Enchanting voice from storyteller. Lovely pauses and patience for pupils to engage with resources."
• "Lovely thanks! All pupils enjoyed and benefited. Lovely props."
• "This is lovely for pupils in a PMLD class or for pupils with a visual impairment as there are more sensory items. The children really enjoyed the props. The storyteller met all of the children's needs in this group. She was fantastic."
• "Lovely storytelling. Pupils all engaged with props."

Dame Ellen Pinsent School, Birmingham. 12/01/16

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 55 children with severe learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all bar four of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All five rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. Comments were:

• "This would be great as an activity with mixed groups from different classes. The children really enjoyed the interaction with the storyteller. Thanks."
• "We thought [the Storyteller] made the stories come alive and made them exciting for the children. Nearly all the children participated at some point. Lots of laughter and excitement."
• "The storyteller was able to engage with all of the children to enable them to participate. Each of the children including children working at P2 were able to participate and eagerly awaited their turn. Was lovely to see the enthusiasm of the children."
• "The children really enjoyed this and engaged throughout. A capitivating experience."

Barrs Court School, Hereford. 07/12/15

Our Storyteller ran five multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 27 children with severe or profound & multiple learning disabilities and/or severe autism spectrum disorder. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all 27 children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and two as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "All the students really enjoyed the story books. There was lot of sensory experiences form different textures to smells. There was something for everyone."
• "All students benefited in their own specific ways. Lovely session."
• "Lots of good resources and well prepared. Suitable amount of time for pupils to explore. Possibly some visual pictures linked to the story to assist visual learners."
• "Well delivered, great enthusiasm. Great use of resources and imagination. Really good incorporation of the switches and photos."
• "Very good interaction with the storyteller. Pupils joined in well with all the switches and noises (animal). A lot of verbal communication with all the different books, smiling and following the storyteller. During the story all took it in turn to participate. They all enjoyed this session."

Tettenhall Wood School, Wolverhampton. 23/10/15

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 39 children with severe learning disabilities. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Four rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and one as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "Excellent attention of more than 20 mins."
• "We all really enjoyed this session. Stories included current subjects which we thought was great. The students really enjoyed all aspects of sensory story, touching, smelling, pulling etc. [The Storyteller] was very friendly and welcoming to both staff and students."
• "The pupils really enjoyed the experience. They were engaged and laughing for the whole session."
• "Great repetition for our pupils. Worked well with our small class. Stories were lovely!! Pupils can relate to experiences. All pupils were very happy and excited while listening to stories. Thank you!"

Westfield School, Leominster. 29/09/15

Our Storyteller ran two multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 18 children with severe learning disabilities. We received feedback from two teachers who judged that all bar one of the children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Both rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. One added, "It was lovely to see the children's eyes light up and hear them squeeling with laughter. The children loved all of the sensory experiences - auditory, visual and tactile. It would be really wonderful to have these stories at school (we currently have two - Princess, Gran's Visit) as they could help children's development of language, as well as their imaginative world through the sensory experience. Thank you very much." The other commented, "This was a really good session. It engaged the majority of hedgehog class (youngest pupils). It engaged the children who are usually most difficult to reach."

Allendale Specialist Day Care Centre, Newcastle. 04/06/15, 11/06/15, 18/06/15

There were a total of 9 adult participants across the three sessions. There were three trainees who all rated the overall training/mentoring as "5/5 - Very Good". One added, "Very well presented. Excellent trainer - very helpful tips." Another commented, "Enjoyed the training, something different."

Waterside Day Centre, Worcester. 04/06/15, 11/06/15, 18/06/15

There were a total of 12 adult participants across the three sessions. There were three trainees who all rated the overall training/mentoring as "5/5 - Very Good". One added, "Brilliant, will definitely use it." Another commented, "Fantastic 3 week training. I have really enjoyed it. [The Storyteller] was very good at showing us how to present the stories. Thank you."

Hope House Children's Hospice, Oswestry. 11/04/15

Our Storyteller ran multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of three children and a sibling. The hospice staff judged that all three children had benefitted from the multi-sensory storytelling. They added, "We very much look forward to Bag Book storytelling sessions. The stories are simple, tactile and interactive. They are always suited/adapted to whichever children/young adults we have staying."

Southall School, Telford. 26/03/15

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 38 children with severe learning disabilities. We received feedback from six teachers who judged that all bar ten of the children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Four rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and two as “4/5 – Good”. Comments were:

• "The children were engaged and loved the multi-sensory experiences. It encouraged them to talk about their own experiences and even the shyer pupils took part."
• "Fantastic way for the group to really understand a book through multi-sensory learning, experience the feelings of the characters. Good use of cross-curricular learning as our book involved counting money in the setting of the book. The group enjoyed the book and the experience. It would help my group to use the props to help sequence their thoughts when retelling the story."
• "Pupils sat and listened and joined in when asked. Pupils do find it hard to concentrate. We were very pleased with all pupils concentration throughout this session. Well done to storyteller. Our group is complex needs and they would benefit form the use of Bag Books. Average age 14-16 years. All pupils said it was excellent listening to the stories and would like storyteller to come again."
• "Students enjoying interactive play to the story. [Student comments;] 'Stories interesting', 'Best ever', 'It was good'."
• "The props help the children feel included in the storytelling. Helps them in the understanding of taking turns."

Walton Hall Community Special School, Stafford. 26/03/15

Our Storyteller ran three multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 19 children with severe learning disabilities. We received feedback from three teachers who judged that all of the children had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. One added, "Excellent sensory stories which all the students were fully engaged with. Thank you for sharing your stories with us." Another commented, "[The Storyteller] interacted with all of the students, even the reluctant ones. He was sensitive to their reactions and didn't force participation but gradually drew them in. My class really enjoyed the stories and began to anticipate and repeat parts of the story. My two higher level students were given a brief by myself to look at how we could use some of the ideas for our own interactive book, which we are producing for other students. They were quick to notice how the stories appealed to the senses and fed back ideas to me as we went along. The [story] was excellent for my group as many are doing, or about to start work experience. Age appropriate too! [The Storyteller] looked at our book and gave us some extra ideas to make our story more sensory."

Rugeley School, Rugeley. 25/03/15

Our Storyteller ran six multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 32 children with severe learning disabilities. We received feedback from five teachers who judged that all bar two of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and two as “4/5 – Good”. One added, "Lovely interaction with pupils. Students really enjoyed the storytime. Storyteller gave students plenty of time to process or touch items in the story. Students found it funny and asked for more. Accommodated students that didn't want to be touched. Brilliant." Another commented, "This session was very nice and happy. It was nice to see the students experiencing different textures and sounds and it gave us ideas about our students' sensory needs we can implement in their school life."

Cherry Orchard Day Centre, Worcester. 23/02/15, 09/03/15, 23/03/15

There were a total of 14 adult participants across the three sessions. There were three trainees who all rated the overall training/mentoring as "5/5 - Very Good". One added, "What an amazing product and really good training. I was impressed with service users varying responses." Another commented, "All service users enjoyed the session."

Malvern Day Centre, Malvern. 23/02/15, 09/03/15, 23/03/15

There were a total of 18 adult participants across the three sessions. There were three trainees. Two rated the overall training/mentoring as "5/5 - Very Good" and one as "4/5 - Good". One added, "I really enjoyed taking part. I was very nervous at first but with support and good advice, I feel more confident."

Kidz in the Middle, Coventry. 19/03/15

Our Storyteller ran multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of 26 children.

Zoe's Place Children's Hospice, Coventry. 26/02/15

Our Storyteller ran multi-sensory storytelling sessions involving a total of three children. The hospice staff judged that all three children had benefitted from the multi-sensory storytelling. They added, "Lovely stories, great storyteller, and fantastic resources."

The Bridge School Business and Enterprise College, Telford. 26/02/15

Our Storyteller ran five multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 41 children with severe learning disabilities. We received feedback from six teachers who judged that all of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. Three rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good” and three as “4/5 – Good”. Their comments were:

• "Our group of nursery age children thoroughly enjoyed the story session. All the children were engaged throughout the session and the group consisted of a range of abilities including children with PMLD. The only thing that maybe could have helped would have been a smaller group so the children didn't have to wait so long for their turn. It was a lovely session. Thank you."
• "The Bag Books are great, but I do feel that for the very young pupils that I work with, the stories are better when they are familiar and are better resourced so that children are not having to wait their turn, even though it is important for them to wait and turn-take. The storyteller was great and remembered the children's name as she shared the resources. The trouble with only resource is that if they are really into the activity and then have to give it up it's hard for the children to understand."
• "[The Storyteller] engaged the children well with the props. They listened and joined in well (3 year old with significant difficulties). They were all keen to explore/use the props after a model and took turns. All children enjoyed the session. Great. Thank you."
• "This group was 4 pupils and the story Granny's Visit was much more interesting to them. The whole group were engaged, shared the resources and watched as their peers took a turn. It made me look differently at the resource and maybe this very small group and shared resources would be ok. I'd like to try it myself now."
• "Really enjoyable session - all children were engaged and included. They enjoyed the multi-sensory experiences - something for everyone and not too intrusive. Storyteller responded to verbal and non-verbal cues from children which was great, as they had experiences extended if they were enjoying them and weren't forced to do anything they didn't enjoy. Great for children storyteller has not met before. Everyone really enjoyed - adults included."
• "Our children really enjoyed the session and the storyteller was very good at reading the children and giving them the correct amount of time to look at the props. Thank you very much."

Kemball Special School, Stoke-on-Trent. 03/02/15

Our Storyteller ran seven multi-sensory storytelling sessions with a total of 52 children with severe learning disabilities. We received feedback from six teachers who judged that all of the children in their classes had benefited from the multi-sensory storytelling. All six rated the overall experience as “5/5 – Very Good”. Their comments were:

• "Fantastic stories, lovely manner."
• "The performer was friendly and engaged with the children well, taking into consideration their needs. The use of visual resources that the children could feel kept them focused. They enjoyed the stories and the performer addressed each child individually and repeated parts of the story to allow the children to engage."
• "Really good session - pupils thoroughly enjoyed it! A large selection of stories brought to the session. Storyteller very enthusiastic. Thank you."
• "He was very comical and made the children laugh."

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