National Braille Week

Royal Blind provides services for the blind. We operate three distinct services: The Royal Blind School, Braeside House and The Scottish Braille Press.

Our achievements over the past year include:-

• Completing a £2.5m residential refurbishment of the Canaan Lane Campus of The Royal Blind School
• Providing education services for 31 Councils
• Developing a £100k sensory garden at The Royal Blind School
• Producing 5 million sheets of large print and 6 million pages of Braille at The Scottish Braille Press, where 50% of our workforce is disabled or visually impaired.
• The award of two prestigious care accolades presented by Scottish Care.
• Development of a Training Programme for the care of older people with a visual impairment.

With over 200 years of history and heritage we take great pride in the services we deliver. As a charity we never forget that we have only been able to achieve this thanks to the generosity of companies, trusts and the general public.

Because of you we see a difference.

Established in 1891 the Scottish Braille Press has a long history of producing high quality Braille and this tradition has been maintained through the development of skills and investing in technology to provide innovative solutions for customers. 75% of our business is with major government and commercial organisations and over 50% of our staff are disabled or visually impaired. We pride ourselves on:

• Providing a high level of customer services
• Offering competitive prices and a fast turnaround of Braille, large print and audio
• Our ability to handle a range of prestigious projects such as the production of Harry Potter books and the Edinburgh International Festival Guide for 2007.

Our Braille magazines are really popular with subscribers and we produce the 'Thistle' series of novels in Braille. Books that we have produced recently include: Harvest by Tess Gerritsen; The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger; and The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden.

For more visit: http://www.royalblind.org/sbp/

The Royal Blind School is a national school offering the highest quality provision to meet the needs of children and young adults with a visual impairment. The school offers both residential and day placements for pupils from throughout Scotland and the UK. The school is located on two sites in Edinburgh: Canaan Lane Campus and Craigmillar Park Campus. Departments include a pre-school unit (early years and nursery), primary and secondary.

The school is inclusive, supporting pupils across the full ability range. Provision includes:

• Units, courses and clusters up to Advanced Higher Level
• Programmes of study for those with Additional Support Needs (ASN)
• Programmes of study for those with Multiple Disabilities and a Visual Impairment (MDVI)
• Specialist training
• A range of therapies
• Residential respite

The teaching philosophy employed at the school is based on the understanding that low vision creates unique educational needs. Vision is the primary sense for learning and consequently the sense on which most traditional educational programmes are based. Loss of vision requires the development and use of imaginative and varied teaching approaches. In addition, it also demands that pupils receive an additional essential curriculum. This includes tuition in orientation and mobility, Braille, assistive technology and independent living skills.

It is the goal of the Royal Blind School to enable all young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors to society.

For more visit: http://www.royalblind.org/school/

Braeside House is our home that provides first class services and facilities for older people who are blind or visually impaired, offering both residential and nursing care in purpose built premises. It has 2 floors with 35 single en-suite bedrooms. Each floor is divided into 3 units with its own dining and sitting room, so that care can be carried out in small living areas. Our service is directly supervised by Registered Nurses supported by care and domestic staff over the full 24 hour period. Recreational activities play big role at the home and we recently:

• Participated in walking the Golden Mile at the Great Scottish Walk.
• Danced and sang to the mix of traditional Scottish music from the Tartan Lads, one of Scotland's top performing duos.
• Sailed down the Union Canal on barge trips with the Seagull Trust.

For more visit: http://www.royalblind.org/braeside/index.asp