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SeeAbility (formerly School for the Indigent Blind and Royal School for the Blind) is a UK charity that provides support and campaigns for better eye care for people with
learning disabilities Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...
,
autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
and sight loss. In 2017 it reported that 236 people were supported in facilities such as residential homes, supported living and activity and resource centres across the south of England. From 2013, SeeAbility launched its ''Children in Focus'' campaign, providing sight tests for children in special schools, after observing that many adults they worked with had not received good eye care when younger.


History

The school was founded in 1799 by four philanthropists: London banker Samuel Bosanquet, Thomas Boddington, James Ware (an eye surgeon), and William Houlston (a charity worker). Its original name was The School for the Indigent Blind, and it was established at
St George's Fields St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in south London, England. History Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south side of the Thames, which was low-lying marshland unsuitable even for agricultural purposes. There ...
,
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
with the intention of educating young blind people and teaching them useful trades. At first, it was housed in the former Dog and Duck tavern. In 1800 fifteen pupils were housed and instructed in the Long Room. A year or so later the school, with thirty-five male and seventeen female pupils, expanded into the tavern and its gardens. The building was demolished in 1812 to make way for the
Bethlem Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and wikt:bedlam, Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably ''Bedlam (1946 fil ...
; the site is now used by the
Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
within Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park. Two acres of ground were allotted at the end of
Blackfriars Road Blackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark Und ...
and a plain school-house for the blind was built. In 1834 additional ground was purchased and the school-house remodelled in the Tudor or domestic Gothic style with a tower and gateway, designed by John Newman. From the 1860s, it was thought that the school should be moved to "another site more contributive to the health of the inmates and the advantage of the Charity". In 1900, the school committee purchased 15 acres of land in
Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leathe ...
at a cost of £4,000 and C. Pemberton Leach was appointed as architect. Work began on the new school building in May 1901 and the foundation stone was laid by Princess Helena on 13 November.
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Quee ...
granted the school royal patronage in 1911, and it was renamed The Royal School for the Blind. It consisted of residential workshops and when the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
began it was requisitioned by
King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by ...
as a national emergency hospital. The school underwent rapid change in the 1970s when the accommodation was transformed with individual bedrooms instead of communal dormitories. The new, modernised building was formally opened by
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, Prince of Wales, ...
in November 1982. In the 1990s the school widened its remit to include people with other physical and learning disabilities and expanded its services to reach out to people in their own homes. It changed its name to SeeAbility in 1994, and adopted the ethos 'Seeing beyond disability'. The organisation expanded to numerous sites across the south of England during the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, opening sites in
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with ...
, Seaford,
Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...
,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
,
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a ...
,
Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own e ...
,
Tadley Tadley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE), now known as AWE, became the area's largest employer, and many houses were built during this per ...
,
Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the Engli ...
and more. In 1999 SeeAbility opened a residential nursing service called Heather House in Tadley that was built specifically to support 16 younger adults with the very rare, degenerative Juvenile Batten Disease. The service is considered one of the leading providers for people with Juvenile Batten Disease, where the people supported live on average 3–4 years longer than at other services. Since opening, the service has supported almost 30 people with the disease. In 2013 it launched the ''Children in Focus'' campaign, carrying out sight tests in special schools and calling for wide-ranging reforms to eye care for people with learning disabilities and autism. The organisation claims to be the biggest global study on the eye care needs of children with learning disabilities, after carrying out eye tests on over a 1000 children in special schools. In 2017, SeeAbility underwent a brand refresh and changed its strapline to 'Extraordinary every day'. The new logo reduced the size of 'See' and emphasized 'Ability' to reflect its shift in focus from sight loss to the intersection between sight loss and learning disability.


Children in Focus

The ''Children in Focus'' campaign was launched in 2013 in four special schools to carry out eye tests on children with learning disabilities and autism. By 2017 it was carrying out eye tests in 8 London schools and a school in Manchester. The charity claims to be the biggest global study on the eye care needs of people with learning disabilities and autism. In its four year report, ''Children in Focus - a clear call to action'', SeeAbility published its findings, which showed that children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to have a sight problem, but much less likely to receive eye care. Nearly half (47.5) had a problem with their vision, a third (31.7%) needed glasses, over four in ten (43.7%) had no history of any eye care and only 7% had ever used a community optician. Of the children with a sight problem, more than a quarter had a problem that was not previously known. In the 2019 NHS England long term plan, it was announced that the NHS would provide sight and dental testing for all children in special schools across England. This came as a direct result of campaigning by SeeAbility, and SeeAbility are to be involved in its implementation. It is the only known example of a charity successfully campaigning for a change in NHS policy.


Supporters and ambassadors

In 1982, Princess Diana became the patron of SeeAbility and made a number of visits to their services until stepping down in 1996. Since 1999 Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester has been the Patron. The current president is Lord Coe and the vice-president is former Prime Minister Sir John Major. In November 2017 the charity organised a fundraising stand-up night with comedians
Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show '' Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as T ...
,
Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satur ...
and
Adam Hills Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show '' Adam H ...
. In the 2018 New Year's Honours, SeeAbility Eye Care and Vision Development Officer Scott Watkin was awarded a BEM for his work with the charity. In 2020 SeeAbility appointed their first two celebrity patrons, Amar Latif and
Helen Fospero Helen Fospero (née Morton; born 30 August 1966) is an English television presenter and journalist, best known for her presenting roles on shows such as ''GMTV'', '' Daybreak'' and ''Lorraine''. She is currently working as a reporter for ''Wat ...
.


References


External links


SeeAbility website
{{Authority control Charities for disabled people based in the United Kingdom Blindness organisations in the United Kingdom Blindness charities Social care in England Organizations established in 1799 1799 establishments in England Charities based in Surrey