Sight Scotland (founded in 1793) is a Scottish Charity based in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The charity provides care, education and employment for people of all ages who are
blind or partially sighted.
Sight Scotland provides the following services:
Royal Blind School
The Royal Blind School is a specialist day and boarding school in Edinburgh, Scotland that was established in 1793 and run by the charity, Royal Blind. The school caters for pupils aged 3 to 19 who are blind or partially sighted, and has faci ...
, Forward Vision, Braeside House, Jenny's Well, Scottish Braille Press and Kidscene. Sight Scotland’s sister charity is Sight Scotland Veterans.
History
In 1793, Dr. David Johnston (Minister of
North Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
), Dr. Thomas Blacklock, and Mr. David Miller founded Sight Scotland. Both Blacklock and Miller were blind. The organisation was founded under the name Edinburgh Asylum for the Relief of the Indigent and Industrious Blind and later was known as Royal Blind.
Organisation
Sight Scotland is a national charity providing services to people from across Scotland and the rest of the
UK. The charity’s headquarters are in Edinburgh, Scotland. Current services are provided in and around Edinburgh and Paisley.
Governance
Management of the charity is the responsibility of the Board of Directors, made up of representatives of public bodies and elected nominees.
The Royal Blind School
The
Royal Blind School
The Royal Blind School is a specialist day and boarding school in Edinburgh, Scotland that was established in 1793 and run by the charity, Royal Blind. The school caters for pupils aged 3 to 19 who are blind or partially sighted, and has faci ...
(founded in 1793) is a specialist day and boarding school located in Edinburgh, Scotland. The school caters for pupils aged 3 to 19 who are blind or partially sighted. It has facilities for boys and girls of nursery, primary and secondary age. Students attending the school come primarily from Scotland, but also from other parts of the United Kingdom.
Famous alumni from the school include
Libby Clegg
Elizabeth Clegg, (born 24 March 1990) is a Scottish Paralympic sprinter who has represented both Scotland and Great Britain at international events. She represented Great Britain in the T12 100m and 200m at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, winning ...
, London 2012 Paralympic silver medalist, who is a brand ambassador for Sight Scotland.
Forward Vision
Forward Vision is a service for young adults aged 18–25 with visual impairment and disability based in Morningside, Edinburgh.
Care for older people
Braeside House is a purpose-built residential care home for older people who are registered blind or partially sighted. It was opened in 1999 and is located in
Liberton, Edinburgh.
The success of Braeside, led to Sight Scotland opening a second care home, Jenny's Well in Paisley. This home was opened in 2017 with the aim to provide the West of Scotland with a care home specifically catering for the visually impaired.
Kidscene
Kidscene is an after school and holiday care facility based in the Sight Scotland School in Morningside, Edinburgh. Kidscene is for children with all abilities, using a reverse integration model to provide care for children with and without disabilities.
Scottish Braille Press
Founded in 1891, Scottish Braille Press produces alternative information formats for visually impaired people large print, Braille, and audio. It is also the host of National Braille Week.
Sight Scotland's sister charity, Sight Scotland Veterans
Sight Scotland Veterans supports former members of the armed forces who have a visual impairment. Any partially sighted person who has served in the armed forces is eligible for membership. This free service provides two key services to its members: The day centres of Linburn in Wilkieston and Hawkhead in Paisley and an Outreach Service covering Scotland.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Sight Scotland homepageHistory of Sight ScotlandRoyal Blind SchoolForward VisionBraeside HouseKidsceneScottish Braille PressSight Scotland Veterans
Blindness organisations in the United Kingdom
Charities for disabled people based in the United Kingdom
Charities based in Edinburgh