Blind and partially sighted children throughout the UK are losing out on their education because they can't always get hold of textbooks they can read.
Campaign report
'Where's My Book?' published for Right to Read Week 2006 (6-12 November), shows 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 is available in a format that a blind or partially sighted child could read.
There are over 20,000 children in the UK with sight problems severe enough to warrant specialist educational support. The majority are educated in mainstream schools. Support through specialist teachers and teaching assistants is organised in a range of ways by different education authorities.
Our research shows just how few accessible textbooks can be acquired off the shelf:
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less than one maths or science title is available in large print at key stage 3
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none of the science textbooks for key stage 4 prescribed by examination boards in Wales or Northern Ireland is available in any accessible format
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not one of the atlases or dictionaries most widely used at Key Stage 4 is available in any accessible format.
What we want
RNIB is calling on central and devolved governments to act decisively in the light of these findings. The current system of providing accessible textbooks is simply not working.
Teachers are reduced to spending hours photocopying, enlarging and retyping pages from textbooks to turn into braille or large print, so that their pupils with sight problems don't go without. Yet despite teachers' best efforts many blind and partially sighted children still get some books later than their sighted classmates. Nine out of ten teachers surveyed by RNIB said this affected blind and partially sighted children both educationally and socially, leaving them often struggling to catch up with sighted classmates and feeling less independent.
13-year-old Alice Blecker Davis and her mum Janine, from Birmingham, both have a sight problem. Alice, who is an avid reader and celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago, said:
"I had a list of books as suggested presents, including two Spiderwick Chronicles series, but not one of them was available in large print or on audio, which made me feel sad.
Janine, said: "An education system that can't provide the same books that sighted children receive is failing my daughter and completely unacceptable. Obtaining curriculum, leisure and general reading books for Alice in large print and audio is a full time job for me. The school works hard to help and has been fantastic, but the problem is getting hold of the books. "
RNIB is calling for the Government to provide a central pool of books available electronically that teachers can download and adapt to the specific needs of the children they work with. This is overwhelmingly what teachers tell us they want. We are urging the Government to truly implement their policy of including children with sight problems in mainstream education, by ending the schoolbook famine.
The full campaign report is available to download: