Learners with PMLD need more than access — they need connection, respect, and meaningful experiences. This category offers sensory learning ideas, communication strategies, and person-centred approaches tailored to pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
Whether you’re supporting engagement, co-regulation, or physical needs, you’ll find resources that honour dignity, promote autonomy, and prioritise wellbeing.
Planting Seeds vs. Scoring Goals: The Debate Between SMART and SCRUFFY Targets for SLD and PMLD Learners In the quiet corners of special education classrooms, a quiet revolution is taking place. For decades, teachers have been told that for a goal to be valid, it must be “SMART.” We’ve all sat in meetings, squinting at … Read more
The Farmyard Morning Sensory Sound Story “The Farmyard Morning” is a delightful, interactive resource designed to immerse Special Educational Needs (SEN) learners in the sights, sounds, and sensations of a bustling farm. This digital soundboard follows a farmer named Pat through a day of waking up, tending to animals, working the land, and resting at … Read more
Trafalgar: A Naval Sound Story (Sensory Story) The Battle of Trafalgar Sensory Sound Story is an innovative, interactive tool designed to bring history to life for Special Educational Needs (SEN) learners. This digital soundboard, themed around the historic naval battle of 1805, combines auditory stimulation with engaging visuals to create an immersive learning experience. Tailored … Read more
Sound stories are magical auditory journeys that use words and sounds to spark imagination and learning, especially for children with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) and Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) learners. The “Emotions Galore” sound story takes kids on a feelings adventure, exploring emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and calm through … Read more
Introduction to The Rainy Day Sound Story Hello storytellers, a sound story is a special, immersive experience designed for SEN learners, helping them explore the world through sound. This story, The Rainy Day, focuses on the learners auditory sense, using simple rhymes, gentle rhythms, and carefully chosen sounds to create a rich and engaging experience. … Read more
Understanding the Ethics of Care Framework The ethics of care framework revolutionises special education by prioritising emotional well-being through interdependence and relational connections. This approach fundamentally transforms how special schools support both pupils with profound intellectual disabilities and staff members, creating an environment where mutual care and understanding flourish. Adherents of an ethics of care … Read more
Bringing the Nativity to Life: A Sensory Story Experience for PMLD Children The magic of Christmas and the beauty of the Nativity story can be challenging to convey to children with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD). However, with a thoughtful approach and the right resources, we can create a rich, engaging experience that brings … Read more
Sensory Activity Guide for PMLD Learners Inspired by the Olympics and the Olympic Rings With the next Olympics nearly upon us here is a detailed activity guide tailored for children with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), based on the colours of the Olympic rings. Each ring colour has multiple colour-focussed activities designed to provide … Read more
A Free Christmas Sensory Story You might be Santa forms part of our “You might be” style sensory story collection. These stories are based on becoming the character by adding props or a costume. They are super simple and designed to appeal to as wide a range of learners and curriculum topics as possible. To … Read more
Understanding The Importance of a Planned Sensory Curriculum Sensory learning is a popular, creative and innovative approach to education that encourages children to explore the world around them and experience things firsthand. By engaging their senses, children can interact with new environments, materials, and textures that enrich their understanding of the world. The benefits of … Read more
Hello storytellers, our most popular page is our free multi-sensory stories page. Here we share over 20 free sensory stories all written by teachers in special schools. This post will provide an idea for a prop that can be adapted as a simple sensory resource for many sensory stories, it is an evolution of Flo … Read more
Who doesn’t love a chance to dress up! This pirate themed sensory story is a little different to our others. I have tried to make it accessible to learners who need minimal language and repetition. I have tried to write for the earlier stages of our sensory story progression stages. Through this pirate adventure, learners … Read more
The Town and Country Sensory Story was written for the cornerstones industrial revolution topic. This was designed to be meaningful for PMLD learners as well as their peers so they can all take something away from the shared experience of multi-sensory storytelling. If you are interested in finding out more about sensory stories have a … Read more
Our Charles Darwin: Voyage of the Beagle multi-sensory story was originally created for a Key Stage 4 class, linking with the Cornerstones Curriculum topic “Darwin’s Delight.” This story was designed as part of our Stage 5 immersive storytelling series, which features more advanced language, layered imagery, and opportunities for deeper exploration. While the vocabulary and … Read more
Mother of God it’s the Line of Duty Sensory Story! No copyright infringement intended (Sorry BBC, please don’t sue) just a bit of fun. I wrote this with older sensory learners in mind. Sometimes sensory stories are not fully age appropriate for adults with PMLD. There is no reason not to engage people based on … Read more
Multi-Sensory Stories For Key Vocabulary Sensory stories are a powerful way to teach key vocabulary through touch, sound, smell, and movement — especially for learners with SEND or in early years settings. This post shares two focused, free-to-download stories exploring the concepts of hot and cold. These easy-to-set-up stories use everyday objects to embed language, … Read more
This blog is going to explore how just with a poundland power-bank we can create simple and affordable sensory lights. We can use these as a 1 off activity or to integrate into your multi-sensory storytelling. As we all know if you put “sensory” on the front of any product you can double the price. … Read more
How Important is Age Appropriateness in School? Whether an activity or interest is age-appropriate is an ongoing argument in SEND education. Frustratingly it seems to only apply to children with SEN. Particularly regarding activities for PMLD learners and the special interests of autistic children. Even more annoying is when we label something “not age-appropriate”. The … Read more
Multi-Sensory Christmas Carols These multi-sensory Christmas songs take the concept of sensory stories and apply them to traditional Christmas songs. Using a range of sensory stimuli we reinforce the key elements of the songs and bring them to life! To aim is to enthuse our sensory learners and enrich the experience for all those taking … Read more
Personalisation and Purpose of Reward Systems at Home and School I am a fan of personalised reward systems in schools as a way to achieve a very specific goal. As a behaviour modification strategy, I have struggled to find a suitable system. I have found star charts or token economy systems a good way for … Read more
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