RNIB: WHY VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN ARE FALLING BEHIND

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has issued a warning that visually impaired children are falling behind their sighted peers due to a lack of support and resources. 

What causes students to fall behind academically?  

According to the RNIB, only 23% of visually impaired children in England are achieving the expected level in reading at Key Stage 2, compared to 80% of sighted children. Additionally, only 11% of visually impaired students are achieving the expected level in maths at Key Stage 2, compared to 70% of sighted children. 

How to help students who are falling behind?  

The RNIB has called on the UK government to address the issue by providing better support for visually impaired children in schools, such as providing specialist teaching and equipment, and by ensuring that the needs of visually impaired children are fully considered in educational policy.  

To help students, the charity has also launched a campaign called “Right to Read”. This aims to raise awareness of the issue and to lobby for change. The campaign calls on the government to invest in specialist support for visually impaired children, to ensure that they have the same opportunities to learn and succeed as their sighted peers. 

In a statement, the RNIB’s director of services, David Clarke, said: “It is unacceptable that so many visually impaired children are being left behind. With the right support, there is no reason why they cannot achieve their full potential. We are calling on the government to take action to ensure that visually impaired children have the same access to education as their sighted peers.” 

What is the RNIB?  

The RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) are a charity who work with blind and partially sighted people, supporting them throughout their life. They provide support through work and school, provide financial support and make specialist equipment accessible to those who need it. To find out more, we recommend looking at the RNIB website. 

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