Bring some joy to Royal Blind School's pupils - Craig Spalding

The cost-of-living crisis means it is a truly challenging time to be involved in the charity sector, as many more people need our support but generating income has become harder. Our latest fundraising campaign is our Christmas Appeal, which aims to deliver a big helping of festive joy to all the pupils at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh.

The Royal Blind School offers a range of health and support services to pave the way for pupils to get the most out of life. It provides education, care and learning to children and young people with visual impairment, including those with additional complex needs.

We are hoping to raise enough money to buy new specialist technology, equipment and toys which will not only bring joy to the faces of the pupils, but will also support their development, help them communicate and do things they never thought possible. The work the school undertakes genuinely transforms lives by building opportunities for social and peer connections, developing skills, increasing confidence and independence, and helping friendships grow.

The equipment the Royal Blind School are hoping to give the children include a Sensory Nook pod which is an inclusive mobile space that could be used in a multi-purpose way for young people to come together for learning and social experiences. A RaceRunner which is a three-wheeled, lightweight frame that gives children with disabilities the freedom to run on their own. Also high-quality bean bags and sensory animal toys.

Five-year-old Freya, who has a Cerebral Vision Impairment, is in primary one at the Royal Blind School

The latest Scottish Government pupil census figures, published in March 2022, indicated there are 4,930 pupils with vision impairment in Scotland – an increase of almost 50 per cent in the last decade.

Samantha Gough, 18, of Lasswade, Midlothian, is a great example of young person the Royal Blind School has really helped. Samantha has been visually impaired from birth due to cerebral visual impairment (CVI) – a condition which means the eyes are healthy, however the brain’s visual pathways do not work, resulting in sight loss. For the last year, Samantha, who is now severely sight impaired, has split her schooling between attendance at her mainstream school and the Royal Blind School. This has been a beneficial partnership between Midlothian and Sight Scotland where both education teams have worked hard together to get the support right for Samantha.

Samantha says this tailored specialist teaching and the opportunity to learn independent living skills with specialist teachers has been “life changing”. She explains: “My sight started to get worse in 2014. As my sight has deteriorated over time, I’ve had to relearn how to live. I needed to do mobility training to find my way around the world again. At the Royal Blind School, I’m learning how to use braille, which I love because I had lost the ability to read and write as my sight was taken away from me due to my condition, and reading and writing in braille has helped me reconnect with that.

“That feels amazing. I feel like I’ve found a part of myself again which I had lost when my sight deteriorated. I’m now working with different technologies, such as a BrailleNote Touch, to be able type and learn how to use a computer. The Royal Blind School team have also been teaching me independent living skills. It’s things like learning cooking skills and learning how to go to the shops and advocate for myself by saying what support I need.”

Craig Spalding, Chief Executive of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans

All the money raised by our Christmas Appeal goes straight towards helping the pupils at the Royal Blind School fulfil all their amazing potential and reach their goals.

If you would like to donate to Sight Scotland, please visit: www.sightscotland.org.uk/christmaspresent

Craig Spalding, Chief Executive of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans