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RSBC

We want every blind child and their family to have skills and confidence to live life without limits Five ways to better

1.

No child in the UK should grow up to be poor or lonely just because they are blind. There are an estimated 22,000 blind and partially sighted children and young people in England and Wales and every day four more children will be diagnosed with sight loss. Currently;

• 90% of those who lose their sight in youth won’t work for more than six months in their lives
• Most will never have someone to share their life with

Four reasons contribute to these shocking facts.

• Parents find it hard to cope with the challenges of raising a child with sight loss
• Blind children experience delayed development in childhood in communication, movement and exploration
• They have limited social encounters and experience isolation as teenagers
• Children will have reduced chances to develop socially which impacts them at school and at work

The Royal Society for Blind Children believe in a better life for blind children. We are on a mission to make sure every single blind child in England and Wales has the self-belief and skills to fulfil the potential we know they’ve got. Make no mistake – helping blind children to believe they can achieve will take time and money. But we’ll do it from the ground up, working with our wonderful donors and volunteers to deliver the five things we believe will transform the life chances of every blind child in England and Wales. Helping parents first: To change the future for blind children and young people we need to change how parents cope with their child’s diagnosis. RSBC’s Family Support Service can be on hand from the moment parents hear the news to offer practical advice and emotional support so parents understand sight loss, adapt and build the self-belief that their family can live beyond it.
2. Excellent and inclusive education: It’s our aim to make every moment of a blind student’s education experience a positive one: helping them to achieve their full potential and to develop socially. Through this they’ll have a spring board to make the most of the next chapter of their life. We’ll do this by growing Dorton College, our popular specialist residential further education college and building a mainstream education programme focussed on inclusivity and digital fluency that acts as a beacon for other schools in the UK.
3. Build friendships and character: We’re going to help children and young people build the kinds of friendships that help them grow as a person. Together, through our social groups, sport and well-being clubs, and creative programmes they’ll learn new skills, make friends and experience moments that will give them the confidence to take on life on life’s terms.
4. Getting young people job ready: To solve the high levels of unemployment and poverty among blind young people we’ll ensure that the young people we work with have the practical job skills and self-belief that they will need to get a job through our work skills services.
5. Harnessing technology: We firmly believe that every day and emerging technology has the power to solve many of the challenges that blind children and young people experience. We work with tech experts to develop and build technology solutions to address those challenges.

25/12/2025

A very Merry Christmas from everyone at RSBC!

As the end of the year approaches and we look back at 2025, it’s been an incredible year packed full of never-to-be-forgotten moments. From our exciting residential trips to our many creative and tech workshops, music sessions, animal encounters, corporate and community events, and our Bedtime Donations campaign, it’s certainly been a full-on 12 months!

We’re thrilled to have supported so many children, young people and families in so many ways. But we never forget that it’s only possible because of our supporters’ generosity and kindness. You’re helping to build brighter, happier futures.

So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being there for us in 2025 – and here’s to an even more exciting year for us all in 2026! Merry Christmas!🎄

[Image description: A colourful sleigh piled high with gifts. At the top is a special present, decorated with the RSBC logo. Text reads: 'Merry Christmas from RSBC'. In the background, a snowy scene with a bright shining star.]

24/12/2025

What a treat… oh yes it was!

Our Dorton College students and staff had a wonderful time at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley recently, enjoying a fantastic pantomime performance of Beauty and the Beast. From start to finish, the production had us all laughing non-stop!

It was a great to experience such a hilarious and creative take on this classic story and we even got to meet some of the incredible cast. Thank you to everyone at the Churchill Theatre for having us - we loved it!

[Image description:
Image 1: Four people posing indoors, two holding white canes, one wearing a festive reindeer jumper and blue hat, another is dressed as Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast.
Image 2: Person dressed as Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast talking to three young men indoors.
Image 3: Theatrical stage lit in purple with 'Once Upon A Time' projected on the backdrop, with audience seating visible in front.]

19/12/2025

In the latest episode of the , our host Juliette chats to Rosie, an RSBC's Habilitation Specialist, about her work supporting young blind and partially sighted people to gain independence skills. The episode includes insights from three young people who are long cane users - we dive into what the early stages of learning to use them involve, as well as talking through some of the common worries and misunderstandings people might have about long cane use.

Listen now - https://www.rsbc.org.uk/blogs/podcasts/rsbc-unseen-podcast-overcoming-long-cane-worries-s-04-e-11

[Video description: The video opens with Juliette, RSBC’s Youth Voice Officer shown on screen. As the audio plays, animated circular graphics appear. Roise is shown next on her own, followed by Juliette on a separate slide. Nailah and Scarlett then appear together. Throughout the video, animated soundwaves move in time with the speakers’ voices to represent the conversation visually. The video ends with Juliette returning to the screen.

Video transcript:
Juliette: Hi, welcome to the RSBC unseen podcast. My name is Juliette. I work here at RSBC, and today I'm going to be chatting to Rosie about her work as a Habilitation Specialist. Rosie.
Rosie: So a Habilitation Specialist is somebody that works with a child or young person from the age of zero 25 with a vision impairment on anything, mobility, independent living skills, orientation
Juliette: So today we're going to be talking about long cane training. We've got a few young people who we chatted to. We're going to be dropping some audio clips from them in, and I'm going to be putting some questions to Rosie all about it, just to give anyone who's not sure a sense of what it's like when young people first start learning to use a white cane.
Nailah: On my first long cane session, I felt it. It was quite overwhelming, but like, once I got the hang of it, it was quite a big relief. And then it came in handy within a week, because I started becoming a full time cane user.
Scarlett: The cane has given me quite a lot more opportunities, such as being able to go out more by myself.
Juliette: Available wherever you get your podcasts and on the Youth Voice YouTube channel!.]

15/12/2025

Thanks to the generosity of one of our fantastic supporters, our Dorton College students were treated to a stunning operatic performance by soprano at our Life Without Limits Centre recently.

Callum Russell, Chair of the Board of Governors at the college, said, “Many of our students were experiencing opera singing for the first time and this wonderful performance will, without doubt, have broadened their horizons. With pieces by composers including Franz Lehár, Michael Nyman and George Gershwin, there really was something for everyone.

“Alice is extremely talented, and her performance was full of virtuosity. Her commitment to an accessible performance was evident from start to finish, for which we are all extremely grateful. Thanks should also go to her accompanying pianist, Richard Black, for providing the perfect platform for a 30-minute performance everyone attending will never forget.”

[Image description:
Image 1: An opera singer named Alice performs on stage in a white dress, facing an audience with some wearing Christmas hats, with a bright, bee-themed mural as the backdrop.
Image 2: Opera singer, Alice performs on stage in a white dress, accompanied by pianist Richard playing offstage to her right, before a seated audience in a room with a Christmas tree and vibrant yellow walls.
Image 3: Three people - Alice, an opera singer, Callum, Chair of the Board of Governors at Dorton College, and Richard, a pianist, stand together in front of a bright mural decorated with smiling bees and honeycomb patterns.]

12/12/2025

Here at RSBC, it just isn't Christmas until we've celebrated the incredible talents of our young people at our annual Christmas Concert!

And oh what fun it was last night, as we caught up with families, volunteers, corporate supporters, and many other very special individuals who've meant so much to us this year.

Full of fun and festive cheer, the Concert was expertly hosted by Precious and Lee, two of our young people. We were treated to fabulous performances by Georgia, Francis, Lily, Jude, Rona, Chapman and Precious, and took part in some incredible (!) karaoke too.

All in all, this celebration was a pretty perfect way to kick off Christmas! A big well done and thank you to everyone who came along 🎉

[Image Descritpion: Image 1 - Francis, a young saxophonist, performs on stage beside a decorated Christmas tree, with colourful lights and a warm, festive backdrop. Image 2 - Lee, Josie and Jude pose wearing their best Christmas jumpers and hats, standing in front of a cosy fire display on a large screen and a Christmas tree. Image 3 - All of the Christmas Concert performers stand with RSBC CEO Julie and supporters from the City of London. They smile birghtly in front of a cosy fire screen display and colourful Christmas tree. Image 4 - RSBC CEO Julie, and Trustee Callum, smiling brightly, stand in front of the LWLC greenery wall decorated with ornaments,and tinsel. Julie wears red antlers.]

10/12/2025

Our Bedtime Donations app now features 500 free audiobooks! From old favourites to modern-day stories and from Christmas poems to fantastic fairytales, there's something that every young listener can enjoy.

When we launched the app, our aim was to make books and stories accessible to blind and partially sighted children, because audiobooks are so expensive to buy. We didn't realise that Bedtime Donations would be so successful that it would top the audiobook app charts within 48 hours, but it did - so take that, Audible!

To everyone who's made Bedtime Donations the success it is - authors, readers and listeners - thank you.

This Christmas, you can make your own donation to the app - record a book, send us a story you've written for the app, or simply let a child know that there's a huge range of amazing stories to be read! All you have to do is download Bedtime Donations for free from wherever you usually get your apps.

2025 may be coming to a close, but Bedtime Donations is just beginning - look out for more amazing stories coming in 2026 and beyond!

03/12/2025

Do you love a murder mystery?! 🔎

Then our latest Unseen Podcast episode is for you! Our Youth Voice Officer, Juliette, sat down with two members of our Audiobook Club, Paris and Freddie, to chat about the book series they’ve been reading throughout the year, 'A Murder Most Unladylike' by Robin Stevens.

With a story full of twists, surprises and the occasional red herring, find out whether anyone managed to work out the culprit, and which moments stood out to them most in the series.

Tune in here - https://www.rsbc.org.uk/blogs/podcasts/rsbc-unseen-podcast-uncovering-murder-mysteries-with-the-audiobook-club-s-04-e-10

[Video description: The video opens with Juliette, RSBC’s Youth Voice Officer. As it plays, dynamic circular graphics featuring Juliette, Paris and Freddie appear alongside animated soundwaves that bring their conversation to life. The video closes with Juliette returning on screen.

Video transcript:
Juliette: Hello and welcome to the RSBC Unseen Podcast. This week, we’ve got the Audiobook Club talking about a murder mystery series they’ve been making their way through this year. Do any of you guys have a favourite book out of the series so far? Paris, I’m going to throw to you!
Paris: I think I’d say the first one. Because it’s the introduction and it's the start to the whole series.
Juliette: Love it! Do you think it just kind of sets up the series really well? It just like pulls you into the world?
Paris: Yes, it does. And it gives me a really clear picture of what do the characters look like and what's going on I always like to picture what's going on inside my head.
Juliette: I love that! Freddie, what about you? What’s your favourite?
Freddie: I agree with Paris on that one. It’s a very good book! But mine, funnily enough is also set in Deepdean, my favourite is the fourth one. There’s lot of drama and there's a lot of suspects and you're like, oh I think it's them, no, I think it’s them!
Juliette: Available wherever you get your podcasts and on the Youth Voice YouTube channel!]

02/12/2025

And just like that, the Christmas season is upon us again! How does it come around so quickly?

Today is Giving Tuesday, the merry antedote to Black Friday splurging where we invite to folk from all over to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. It's kindness of our supporters that make Christmas magical for blind and partially sighted children like Maya and her family.

Find out more about how RSBC have supported Maya and her familiy this year - rsbc.org.uk/pages/christmas.

[Image description: Three children, Maya and her brother and sister, sit on a cozy rug in festive pajamas, with a beautifully lit Christmas tree decorated behind them.]

21/11/2025

Did you catch us at this week?

We loved being part of this annual event at the ILEC Conference Centre in London! RSBC joined a host of organisations showcasing the latest tech and services for blind and partially sighted people.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our table over the two days to hear about how we support children and young people with vision impairments (VI) and their families. It's always great to connect with more people from the VI community and chat to other organisations in the sector!

[Video description: Owain Robinson, a Senior Children, Young People and Families Activity Officer , with ginger hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a green jumper, glasses, and a lanyard. He’s sitting at a table covered with a yellow RSBC table cloth, surrounded by leaflets and flyers. Behind him, are RSBC roll-up banners showcasing the Family Support teams and wider organisations mission.]

20/11/2025

Right now, equitable access to education, support, and community inclusion for every blind and partially sighted child in the UK isn't the reality. Too many children and young people with vision impairments have to fight for the right to grow, to learn, and to thrive. And that's why World Children’s Day 2025's theme of 'My Day, My Rights' resonates so loudly with us at RSBC.

Read our blog to understand why a change in approach is needed now - https://www.rsbc.org.uk/blogs/news/world-children-s-day-2025-my-day-my-rights

[Image description: A young boy with auburn hair and black glasses sits on a white chair at a white desk. He's playing with brightly coloured building blocks and a yellow toy car is next to him. His face shows that he's concentrating as he puts the yop block in place.]

Every child has the right to grow, learn, and thrive. But for too many children and young people with vision impairments, those rights are still something that have to be fought for. World Children’s Day is about listening to children’s voices and acting so that they enjoy the rights they’re e...

18/11/2025

Calling all gamers! We're hosting an incredible gaming event you won’t want to miss. 🎮

We’re teaming up with PHD students from Imperial College London to test a brand-new interface that makes Overcooked and Minecraft playable for visually impaired gamers and you’ll be among the first to try it!

Plus, dive into the world of game design with two exciting activities: producing and recording your own game sound effects or building your very own custom gaming controller.

And yes, there will be pizza.

Spaces are limited, so sign up now before it’s game over!
Find out more here - https://luma.com/rye6ofgw.

[Image description: Two young people sat infront of a big TV screen, playing Mario Kart]

Address

RSBC, Life Without Limits Centre, 10 Lower Thames Street
London
EC3R6EN

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9am - 5:30pm
Friday	9am - 5:30pm

Website

http://www.rsbc.org.uk/

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