The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is celebrating a major milestone in its campaign for accessible school text books. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) have announced the appointment of a consortium led by Dolphin Audio Publishing to run a pilot project which aims to transform access to textbooks for blind, partially sighted, dyslexic and other children who cannot read standard print.
Lesley-Anne Alexander, Chief Executive of RNIB said: "Currently blind and partially sighted children throughout the country risk losing out on their education because they and their teachers struggle to get hold of text books in a format they can read.
"RNIB is campaigning hard for children's right to read text books. This announcement is an important milestone for all those who have campaigned with us to achieve it. Now RNIB is committed to working alongside this consortium whilst keeping up the pressure on Government, to ensure that this pilot project delivers an efficient solution."
RNIB, with other members of the Right to Read Alliance, have run a long and vocal campaign to highlight the lack of accessible text books, which in March 2007 included the largest ever lobby of Parliament by blind and partially sighted children.
13 year old Rebecca has albinism with nystagmus and needs large print text books. Currently her teachers try very hard to reproduce the books by enlarging them on a photocopier, but this is time consuming and can disrupt the formatting. Her mum, Michele, is already working with the school to prepare books for next academic year.
Michele says: "Getting textbooks that Rebecca can read is a constant battle for both us and her teachers. We're pleased to hear the Government is finally taking this issue seriously, but we're very anxious to know whether this pilot will find a way of Rebecca getting the textbooks she needs to study for her GCSEs in two years time."
RNIB research (Nov 2006) found that only 12 per cent of maths and 8 per cent of science GCSE text books in England were available in large print or braille. Despite teachers' best efforts, many blind and partially sighted children are still getting some materials later than their sighted classmates.
The pilot project funded by DCSF should transform access to text books for children who cannot read standard print. It will develop and test ways of providing books and other Key Stage 3 and 4 curriculum materials in IT based formats that are accessible to pupils who are blind, partially sighted or dyslexic.
The pilot is expected to run in a number of Local Education Authorities from September 2009, lasting a full academic year. For details of the project and how it is progressing, write to your local MP and ask him or her to keep you informed.
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For more information, or to interview an RNIB spokesperson, parent or teacher, please contact Yashoda Sutton in the RNIB Press Office on 0207 391 2223, or out of hours on 07968 482 812.
You can also visit rnib.org.uk/righttoread or teachernet.gov.uk
Supporting quotes
Annette Brook MP has led the parliamentary campaign for accessible textbooks. As well as quizzing the Prime Minister about progress at Prime Minister's Questions, she hosted the largest lobby of Parliament by blind and partially sighted children in 2007. She says: "I very much welcome the news that this project is going ahead and look forward to following the progress of the consortium. I will continue to work hard to ensure this issue stays firmly on the Government's agenda and that the Government implements the recommendations made by the project."
Teacher, Rosemary Druce says: "This project is a real breakthrough for those of us who work with pupils with disabilities in schools. At present many hours are spent adapting materials for a few pupils by retyping, enlarging, recording and photocopying resources. We are looking forward to the results of the pilot scheme and hope it will eventually be of benefit to all schools."
Background information
Every day another 100 people in the UK will start to lose their sight. There are 1.8 million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, has a sight problem RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999.
There are around 24,000 blind and partially sighted children in the UK who are losing out at home and in school because they can't always get hold of books in a format they can read such as large print, audio or braille. Nine out of ten fiction books never make it into a format that blind or partially sighted children can read, and very few school text books are produced in accessible formats.
RNIB's report "Where's my book" published in November 2006, showed that only 12 per cent of maths and 8 per cent of science GCSE textbooks in England, are available in braille or large print. Not one of the dictionaries or atlases most widely used by 14 to 16-year-olds were available in a format that a blind or partially sighted child could read.