In this issue:
iSite Summer 2015 RoyalBlind.org
Vision’
A week in the life of one of Forward Vision’s young adults
Page 13 New beginnings for the Royal Blind School’s pupil-run cafe
Page 14 Blind bowling hits the target
Pages 10 and 18
Exploring the Early Years Playgroup
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Royal Blind empowers blind people to fulfil their potential and achieve a brighter future. Our vision is that we will make a significant contribution to building a community in which blind and partially sighted people, including those who also have other disabilities, are fully included and lead fulfilling lives. It costs £1,510 every hour to provide the following services:
The Royal Blind School Specialist education for young people aged up to 18 years.
Forward Vision A residential and respite service for young adults aged 18-25.
Braeside House A care home specialising in care for visually impaired older people.
Scottish Braille Press A leading provider of high quality Braille, large print and audio transcription services.
Kidscene An after school and holiday club for children of all abilities.
Scottish War Blinded Our sister charity provides assistance to veterans of the armed forces who have a significant visual impairment.
Pages 4–5, 14–17
Pages 13
Pages 18–19
Pages 9
Pages 7
Pages 10–11
Making a donation to Royal Blind
iSite in alternative formats
Every donation makes a difference. You can donate:
To receive iSite in large print, Braille or audio CD please contact Colleen Watt on 0131 229 1456 or colleen.watt@royalblind.org
Online at www.royalblind.org/donate Telephone: 0131 229 1456 Cheque: made payable to Fundraising, Royal Blind, 50 Gillespie Crescent, Edinburgh, EH10 4JB.
Royal Blind is a registered charity SC017167 Scottish War Blinded is a registered charity SC002652
This magazine is interactive! This magazine uses interactive technology that enables you to link directly to online content by scanning pages with your mobile phone. Download the Layar app and scan every page that displays the Layar icon with your mobile phone to be led to related content online. 2 I iSite Magazine
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Royal Blind introduces living wage Royal Blind was proud to become a Living Wage employer in April this year. This means the minimum rate of pay for all staff is now £7.85 per hour. This figure is set by the Living Wage Foundation and is believed to more accurately reflect the minimum amount a person can live on than the current minimum wage.
Chief Executive Richard Hellewell said:
As a result of the decision, a total of 61 of 458 staff members received a pay rise, including kitchen and domestic staff, drivers, care assistants and trainee proof readers.
increase up to the Living “The Wage makes me feel more
Forward Vision presented with trophy for music contest
“The Living Wage will make a real difference to many of our employees. It should also have benefits in terms of staff recruitment, retention and well being.”
two small children and “Ithishaveis much appreciated as the cost of living is soaring. ” King Kuet, Catering Assistant
What our staff say staff the Living Wage at “Paying Royal Blind will certainly keep appreciated in the job that I do. ” me working here.” Barry Laidlaw, Catering Assistant
Richard Lewis, Catering Assistant
do.
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Congratulations to singer Amanda Roberts and all the young adults at Forward Vision who were presented with the third place ‘Care Home Idols 2014’ trophy, to celebrate their success in the UK music competition. As reported in the spring iSite, Forward Vision entered the singing contest with a video recorded during a music workshop last December. Amanda was lead vocalist on the track, and accepted the trophy at the presentation on behalf of all the young adults.
Forward Vision Care Services Manager, Julie Jamieson, said:-
“Amanda has a lovely voice and I’m really pleased this video gave her a Amanda is a former Royal Blind School chance to shine! pupil who enjoys short breaks once a week at Forward Vision. As well as “Music-making is a really important being a talented singer, she is also a part of what we do here at Forward keen actress, musician and composer Vision. It’s a great form of who takes regular piano lessons. communication which gets everyone
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involved. All the young adults had a lot of fun making the film. As you can see they did a brilliant job!” The video can be watched at carehome.co.uk/idol, or scan this page with the layar app to be linked directly. Amanda with the trophy and her parents Willie and Clare Roberts.
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Early Years Playgroup A carnival of sounds, shapes and lights awaits when you enter Royal Blind’s Early Years Playgroup. Three year old Arran darts about excitedly, pressing, squeezing and shaking every object in his path. Meanwhile, four year old Ava is relaxed beneath a frame of dangling toys, making them rattle, flash and twirl at her touch – and flashing her own dazzling smile every time. 4 I iSite Magazine
A stimulating array of colourful toys and everyday objects are ready to explore in this carefully designed environment, using well established techniques to encourage play and development in visually impaired children aged from 0 to 5.
nursery-nurse with 20+ years experience at Royal Blind, while the playgroup Manager Louise Buggy is a specialist teacher of children with visual impairment, who has been working for Royal Blind for 17 years.
Tucked away in a quiet Edinburgh side street, the long-running playgroup is a bit of a hidden gem from Royal Blind. Once discovered, parents of children with a visual impairment are prepared to travel far and wide to meet and share stories with other parents, and to make use of its expert resources.
“Children with visual impairment can lag behind in play development – they may be anxious about exploring or know less about what’s out there to explore”, Louise explains. “We develop an environment that encourages curiosity, with knowledge of developmental playsteps in mind.”
Chief amongst the resources are the dedicated and knowledgeable staff. Carol-Ann Neilson is a
One of the techniques used is the ‘little room’, based on the renowned work of psychologist
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Dr Lilli Nielsen. These spaces act as safe micro-environments around the child, with toys and other interesting objects hanging from it. With every movement something happens, and the child can soon predict and be in control of their actions. The little room concept can be recreated for larger children, using frames such as the one Ava was enjoying. Ava and her mum Gillian travel 50 miles from Eyemouth every Friday to attend the playgroup. In addition to a visual impairment Ava has cerebral palsy which restricts her physical movement. Her mum says the set-ups have been enormously helpful for her, removing a lot of the anxiety about playing. Ava
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used to not know how to occupy herself, but now she is not long in the door before she’s feeling comfortable in the space and using the toys around her with a big smile on her face.
a regular attender at the group, says that it has helped reduce the isolation parents can feel, and it’s been helpful to get some specialist advice:-
“I really love it here. The environment is really good, the teachers here are “I got lots of ideas from here” Gillian says; “I learned more about brilliant – really patient and what to do at home. Also, the toys knowledgeable. It’s really important are very, very expensive–coming here for me because I’m not always sure we’re able to try before we invest.” what I can do for Arran, so I get more ideas and suggestions and Qian, the mum of Arran who is also learn from the teachers.” The Early Years Playgroup is open every Friday during Royal Blind School term time, from 9.30 – 11.30am. It’s a free service based at 16 West Savile Road, Edinburgh EH16 5NQ. For more information or to book a place contact Louise Buggy on 0131 446 3120 or email louise.buggy@royalblindschool.org.uk
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Volunteer’s story Volunteers play varied and important roles at Royal Blind. Lisa Kenny has just completed a volunteer work placement as a Marketing and PR intern. Here she reflects on the experience. For three months I was an intern at Royal Blind’s head office whilst studying for my University degree in Public Relations at Queen Margaret University. This role makes you passionate for the cause. You recognise the struggles, you can’t put yourself in those shoes but you sure can support. That gave me a great feeling. Raising awareness for Royal Blind is vital for funding but it’s also vital on a human level; to see another’s struggle is to take action on their behalf. I felt privileged and inspired in meeting the young people at the school, to be told the stories of the residents at Braeside House, to learn of the impressive history and work of the Scottish Braille Press, the care of Kidscene and the support Forward Vision provides. Royal Blind does an impressive job of covering all of their facilities in the form of fundraising and public relations. The work in the office is always varied; from blog writing to press releases and fundraising, I have learnt many valuable skills as an intern.
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Above: Volunteer Lisa Kenny at the Royal Blind School
Get involved!
I particularly enjoyed writing up blogs for the website covering various events and celebrating the achievements of those under the Royal Blind umbrella. I write my own blog so this gave me room to expand on my creativity and also to pick up extra writing skills.
We have roles for volunteers that can be carried out in your own time as well as roles working in our head office or for one of our services.
In the future I hope to return to Royal Blind to help with any campaigns and events and also for a catch-up with the goings-on. Royal Blind has given me confidence for my future employment which I will be seeking in a few months’ time so I would like to thank everyone on the team for their guidance and support. I will be back!
Get involved - email frances.chisholm@royalblind.org or call 0131 229 1456 if you would like to help raise awareness of our fantastic work.
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Easter Holiday Club Lisa Donoghue, Manager of Kidscene After School and Holiday Club, outlines the highlights of this year’s Easter Holiday Club. As well as the themed activities there were some great days out at The first week of the spring holiday the Trampoline Centre in Portobello and The Yard, which is a club this year was Easter themed while the second week focused on purpose built adventure playground for children and young space and intergalactic activities. people with disabilities. It was We had a fantastic Easter egg great to meet lots of new people hunt and got brilliant weather and the children really enjoyed the which makes such a difference. huge boat swing and the giant slide. But, we are still missing two crème Back at Kidscene, the children eggs because they were so well hidden. Harry and Phil, the school’s enjoyed swimming in the school’s hydrotherapy pool, getting out maintenance staff, are in for a treat as they’re bound to find them into the sensory garden and playing football. at some point. We made egg shaped bath-bombs which worked really well and fizzed beautifully. We added essential oils to them so they had a lovely smell. The children took them home to enjoy in the bath. The edible flower pots went down a treat. We made a chocolate cake for the pot, used a lolly as the centre of the flower and sliced up marshmallows for petals. One of the children gave me a handmade sheep, which is really cute, but it needs a name! There is a photo on our Facebook page and we are gathering suggestions.
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Jessica, whose sister Lolly goes to the Royal Blind School, likes making pictures for her friend, while Ethan loves the Xbox and is hoping FIFA 15 will be added to the Kidscene catalogue of games. On the final day the Holiday Club enjoyed a visit from Calum of Cool Creatures who brought with him a meerkat, a skunk, an African hedgehog, a tortoise, snake and two lizards. The African hedgehog has softer bristles because it’s bred in captivity so it’s a bit like stroking a hairbrush.
Kidscene is an after school and holiday club in Morningside, Edinburgh, that welcomes children with and without disabilities in an integrated environment. View our virtual tour of the premises and book your place today at www.royalblind.org/child-care
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Scottish Braille Press proves it takes security seriously
Former Royal Blind School pupil starts job at the Scottish Braille Press
Earlier this year, the Scottish Braille Press became ISO 27001 accredited. Manager John Donaldson explains what exactly this means – and why it’s important. In February 2015, the Scottish Braille Press achieved an important milestone for our organisation. We became ISO 27001 accredited. This is an internationally recognised standard, which means that we must continually meet the highest standards for information security. Generally speaking, most businesses have some form of controls in place to manage information - one of the most valuable assets that a business owns. However, the effectiveness of such a policy depends on how these controls are organised and monitored. Many organisations introduce security controls haphazardly, providing specific solutions for specific problems, whilst others are introduced simply as a matter of convention. Such a random security policy can leave valuable information assets like paperwork and proprietary knowledge - less protected and vulnerable. The ISO 27001 standard was introduced to address these issues.
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Adhering to the ISO 27001 standard means the Scottish Braille Press must systematically manage information security risks, implement comprehensive controls, and adopt an overarching management process to ensure we continue to meet the standard. The business benefits from ISO 27001 certification are considerable. Not only do the standards help ensure security risks are managed cost-effectively, it sends a valuable and important message to customers and business partners, namely that our organisation does things the correct way.
There are two welcome new faces around the Braille Press – Jodie Renton and her guide dog Jenny. Jodie, a 27 year old university graduate, has joined the staff as a Braille Proof Reader. This involves carefully checking the accuracy of a wide variety of Braille documents. Jodie is well qualified for the task. She's been a fluent user of Braille since she learned at the Royal Blind School aged five. She also brings high level language and literature skills, with a degree in human resources and languages from Edinburgh Napier University (she speaks French and German). As well as being an expert in Braille, Jodie also has an interest in online technologies and journalism, and has started her own blog. We look forward to hearing a lot more from her in future! We wish Jodie and Jenny well as they settle in.
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Celebrity Golf Day A major highlight in the Royal Blind fundraising calendar is once again fast approaching. Building on the success of last year’s event, the seventh annual Royal Blind Celebrity Golf Day will be held on 13 August at the prestigious Archerfield Golf Course in East Lothian. This special event, hosted by renowned DJ Scott Wilson, is for amateur and professional golfers alike, uniquely matching each team of three with a celebrity from the sporting world.
Last year’s sporting legends included John Yogi Hughes, Paul Hartley, Neil McCann, Jackie McNamara, Director of Hearts Craig Levein and former Scottish international goalkeeper Alan Rough. The opportunity for teams to participate in challenges such as blind-folded golf and black ball challenges makes the day even more special, giving a profound sense of perspective and appreciation of the difficulties that blind and partially sighted people face. An auction and raffle of exclusive prizes is also offered, helping to raise funds for Royal Blind. A team of three costs £600, which includes a breakfast roll, tea or coffee on arrival, the use of the
exceptional facilities, an Archerfield crested valuables pouch, tees, pencil and poker chip marker, 18 holes of golf in a shotgun start, use of golf buggies and a two course set menu meal post golf. Kerrigan Bell, Senior Fundraiser commented: “We are really excited to be hosting this wonderful event again this year. Whilst the emphasis is on some good-natured competition, it is all in aid of a good cause – making the difference to blind and partially sighted people of all ages. We have a number of sponsorship opportunities available to companies who wish to get involved. Feedback from previous years has always been very positive and I would urge anyone who enjoys golf to get in touch.”
Tickets can be purchased online at www.royalblind.org and are on a first come first served basis. If you are interested in finding out more about the sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kerrigan Bell at kerrigan.bell@royalblind.org
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Centenary bowling rolls into town As part of Scottish War Blinded’s centenary celebrations, members are taking part in a blind bowling tour at clubs across Scotland. The centenary bowling tour celebrates the important role bowling has played as a recreational activity for Scottish War Blinded members throughout the charity’s history. Bowling was played on the grounds of the charity’s Newington House in Edinburgh
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by members who had returned from World War One. It provided a welcome change of pace from rehabilitation and vocational skills training. After World War Two the sport continued to be popular. A bowling green was constructed for members and their families at Linburn, West Lothian and many keenly contested summer competitions were established. “The bowling green is in almost constant use once the season opens and many lasting friendships have resulted.”
Visually impaired bowling has traditionally relied upon sound, where a person directing a bowler would use aural cues such as clapping or whistling next to the target bowl. At times, a white cardboard square was used to provide contrast against the black coloured bowls. “The lad is not merely applauding his blind comrade’s efforts: what he is doing is giving him something to steer by-in this case a sharp handclap.” (Information Leaflet 1952)
(Annual Report 1961)
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The Centenary Bowling Tour – Match Reports The centenary bowling tour began in April at Baxter Park Bowling Club in Dundee - the venue in 1959 for the inaugural Scottish blind bowling championship. It then visited Aberdeen and Dunfermline in May. Members played matches against a combination of sighted and visually impaired bowlers at each club. Matches have so far been keenly contested and great rapport has been established through encouragement and banter. Team Scottish War Blinded is yet to record a victory on the tour despite numerous impressive performances from members, admired by competing teams and spectators. Many shots have been happily recalled over tea, sandwiches and scones in the clubhouse afterwards.
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Scottish War Blinded member James Stevenson describes his tour experience so far: “I’ve had a very good day’s bowling, which I hope raises awareness of Scottish War Blinded and develops friendships with the wider bowling community. I made a relatively slow start today but improved as the match progressed as a result of old age, experience and practice.”
Members have enjoyed the opportunity to share stories with fellow former members of the Armed Forces on opposing teams, encouraging some to apply for Scottish War Blinded membership, as well as educating able-sighted bowlers and spectators about visually impaired bowling. The centenary bowling tour will reconvene in July when Scottish War Blinded members visit bowling clubs in Edinburgh, the Scottish Borders and Glasgow.
MATCH SCORES SO FAR: 28 April 2015 Baxter Park Bowling Club 13
Scottish War Blinded 10
6 May 2015
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Scottish War Blinded 16
14 May 2015 Abbeyview Bowling Club 20
Scottish War Blinded 11
Whitehall Bowling Blub
FUTURE TOUR DATES: 23 July 2015
Jessfield Bowling Club, Edinburgh
5 August 2015
Abbotsford Bowling Club, Galashiels
10 August 2015
Ardgowan Bowling Club, Greenock
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Scottish War Blinded staff raise funds for sister charity Royal Blind James Gregson, Workshop Instructor, cycled from Land’s End to John O’ Groats. Starting on 31 May, he travelled a whopping 890 miles in just five days! Well done and thanks for this amazing effort. Donations can be made via his JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/ james-gregson3/2 Art Instructor David Grigor, is holding an exhibition of contemporary Edinburgh landscapes with 10% of every sale going to support the Royal Blind School. The exhibition, Visions of Edinburgh, runs until September in Henderson’s of Edinburgh on Hanover Street. Open from 8.00am until 10.00pm, Monday to Saturday, it’s free to attend. David Grigor commented: “I am delighted to be able to support the Royal Blind School by donating a percentage of sales of art works sold. The exhibition comprises recent oil paintings, pen and ink drawings, and oil pastel work of Edinburgh landscapes and attempts to capture the vision of Edinburgh in colour and perspective.”
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RUN, JUMP OR CYCLE FOR ROYAL BLIND We need more people to help raise funds for Royal Blind so we can continue to provide care, education and employment for blind and partially sighted children and adults across the country. We have FREE charity places in the following events so go on, get fit, get sponsored and get fundraising for Royal Blind:-
• Scottish Half Marathon 19 September A flat and rapid route that finishes in the final furlong of Musselburgh Racecourse.
• Big Fun Run and One Big Weekend – 10-11 October Two timed 5k runs taking place in Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park (Saturday) and Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park (Sunday).
• Forth Rail Bridge Abseil 19 October Celebrate the 125th anniversary of this iconic structure with a 165 foot drop from its rails. To book or for more information contact Frances Chisholm on 0131 229 1456 or visit www.royalblind.org/events
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This poem was written by Forward Vision staff member Brenda Archibald about the young adults she works with.
A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF.... Christopher Donovan At Forward Vision, the residents enjoy a variety of activities tailored to their needs and interests. iSite took a quick peek into the busy diary of 18 year old Christopher Donovan from East Lothian. MORNINGS Christopher is a fairly early riser (for a teenager!), getting up around 7.30am. After breakfast and medicines he heads off for a mid-morning class. One of his favourites is the energetic ceilidh class held at Dancebase in central Edinburgh. On Wednesday morning, Christopher helps take orders at Forward Vision’s café – the Cranberry Tearoom. As a former Royal Blind School pupil, the cafe is a great meeting place for old friends from the school when they drop by. AFTERNOONS Almost all the young adults gather together for the weekly musicmaking workshop. Music specialist Karl Macrae guides everyone through their parts, and they play instruments such as tambourines
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Dark and Light Where are you? Please communicate with me I am here in my wheelchair, but guess what? … I can’t see You don’t need to feel bad and certainly don’t feel sad When you pity me it’s patronising and only makes me mad
and switches as independently as possible. While Christopher really enjoys expressing himself through music, not all his activities are quite so noisy! Every week he also spends a relaxing afternoon in the healing micro-climate of Edinburgh’s Salt Caves. EVENINGS Like most teenagers, music is really important to Christopher and he enjoys a wide range of pop and classical artists. With an exarmy father, he’s also keen on listening to traditional pipes and drums on occasion. This week Christopher was lucky enough to have a ticket to see one of his favourite bands on tour – Take That. “It was just brilliant, he was loving it!" support worker Sandra reported. "It was really busy but once he realised he could be as loud as he liked in that crowd, he just got in the mood!” After returning to Forward Vision at 1am Christopher was a little sleepier than normal the following day – but he didn’t take long to get back in the swing of things.
Like you, I experience feelings and lots of emotions too Come over, to speak to me, I really won’t hurt you Just take some time out and then come sit with me You may end up understanding me exactly to a tee I’m human too and deserve the very best Don’t isolate me or single me out, put me to the test Show me you care by involving me in life Don’t discriminate against me it only causes strife You are my friend, my voice, my eyes and ears Let’s show we’re moving forward, not going back in years You are my advocate to keep me safe from harm But I usually get round folk wi’ the use of my smile and my charm! Whenever you next see me, don’t be scared to say hello I may not be able to see you but I will always let you Know Then I can interact with you and explore the things I hear And we’ll be proud - ignorance hasn’t won and has made you lose your fear!
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PUPILS RAISE FUNDS FOR THE TEENAGE CANCER TRUST
New beginnings for the pupilrun cafe
Four pupils from Class 8 have raised £345 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Namarra Hume, Steven Magee, Andrew Pettigrew and Christina Tytler organised 3 fundraising activities as part of their Religious and Moral Education curriculum on ‘Beliefs in Action’.
The Royal Blind School’s legendary pupil-run café has re-opened in a brand new venue in the school in Morningside.
The first event was a lunchtime concert where the Fabulous Four performed beautifully – Andrew played self-penned songs on his guitar, Steven played piano and the girls sang Ed Sheeran classics.
The café has been in operation in various guises, and at different locations, for 20 years. This latest incarnation – aptly named ‘New Beginnings Cafe’ – is in an area of the school which has been specially renovated to accommodate the venture, including indoor and outdoor seating. After much preparation and hard work by staff and pupils, ‘New Beginnings’ opened its doors to customers with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting by Head Teacher Elaine Brackenridge. The café is loved by everyone visiting, and the fresh scones come highly recommended. It’s also an important part of the community of the school, and provides pupils with essential life skills and work experience outside the classroom. Pupils are taught practicalities such as cooking and cleaning but also working tills, time management and maintaining a high level of customer service.
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After that they ran a Pop-Up Bake Shop where the fundraising foursome made cupcakes, scrumptious chocolate brownies, cookies and scones assisted by Home Economics teacher Mrs Budd.
The café has its own innovative ordering service using a box of Braille cards with pictures of the choices on offer, such as brownies, tea and coffee. Customers place what they want into a separate box labelled ‘orders’ which is collected by pupils. They are then able to read the order in the most appropriate format, giving them independence in the cafe.
The final fundraising effort involved negotiations. Principal Teacher Miss McElrone and the New Beginnings Café team kindly agreed to donate a day’s takings to the cause, and Mrs Eliott Lockhart donated the profits from selling crepes, which was part of the pupils’ French lesson.
The café aims to open its doors to the local community in the near future.
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Scooter convoy
From the darkness came around 50 scooters roaring their engines and bearing gifts in the form of mouth-watering Easter eggs!
In late March Royal Blind School pupils and staff gathered outside in anticipation and excitement for the arrival of the Edinburgh Scooter Club on their Easter egg run.
The scooters set off from Dreghorn Services at 7pm for their annual ride out to the school in Morningside. They were met with a warm welcome from the residential pupils when their colourful, noisy convoy arrived, laden with a cargo of chocolate.
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The pupils had a chance to examine the bikes up close and have a seat on them, which was very exciting. As Care Services Manager Julie Jamieson said: “For our young people, a convoy of scooters is a much cooler egg delivery method than an Easter bunny!” The scooter club members were treated to some home baking from the school’s care staff before they roared off into the sunset.
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Music making with pupils who have disabilities and visual impairment Royal Blind School music teacher Louisa Maddison recently gave a presentation at a global conference exploring the lives of musicians with a visual impairment. She discussed the music department’s innovative work with visually impaired pupils who also have multiple disabilities (MDVI).
This is probably the biggest ever conference to look at the experiences of blind and partially sighted musicians. How did the Royal Blind School get involved? The organiser, Dr David Baker from University College London, (UCL) came to observe my teaching just over a year ago. He observed a whole range of classes – from pupils with additional support needs right through to Higher level music lessons. I don’t think that David had realised that the Royal Blind School caters for such a wide pupil group. David is writing a book about visually impaired musicians and after visiting the Royal Blind School it was decided to include a chapter on visual impairment music education. The conference was established so that the international network of professionals who have contributed to the book could share their thoughts and ideas.
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What was the subject of your presentation? My main aim was to show that there are so many variables with pupils who have MDVI. You are tailoring the music lesson to the individual pupils and the nature of their visual impairment. However, there will often be additional challenges associated with a range of medical conditions, poor motor control, cognitive impairment, seizure activity etc. You also need to be very aware of the small cues in their behaviour and therefore it is essential to become familiar with pupils’ responses so that you are able to successfully communicate with them through the medium of music. Did you demonstrate some teaching techniques? Yes, I showed several films of pupils responding to music in a variety of ways: making small vocalisations,
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not so much about teaching music, it’s about “ It’s the pupils teaching me how to communicate with them through music. ” turning their head towards the instrument, smiling, lifting their arms, signing for “more” repetitions of a sound using Canaan Barrie signing. I also demonstrated that pupils that are unable to access musical instruments due to physical restrictions can still experience the sound in alternative ways. Where appropriate, musical instruments are held close to the pupil’s body so that they can feel the vibrations. Pupils are also facilitated to rest their hands on an instrument while it is being played, again so that they can feel the movement and the vibration that follows. This enables pupils to experience and explore the instrument through both touch and sound. I also showed some examples of pupils using technology, such as the iPad. What difference has technology made to the music-making opportunities for pupils with MDVI? Technology has made a huge, huge difference to teaching music at the Royal Blind School. If our pupils find it difficult to hold an instrument or beater due to physical barriers then they can use the iPad to make a sound by using small hand or finger movements. When the iPad is connected to the speakers this enables pupils to be
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in control of a massive sound with just the tiniest movement. This is also important when we consider that some of these pupils might not have much control in their day to day lives due to the communication barriers that they face. It is essential to our approach that they are completely in control of the musical interaction. What difference is there in your approach to music lessons with pupils who have MDVI? The approach to teaching is different when working with pupils who have MDVI. The pupils all react in very different ways. It’s not so much about teaching music, it’s about the pupils teaching me how to communicate with them through music, taking their lead and watching/listening for subtle cues in their responses. So how was the presentation received? The conference went really well. I had lots of great feedback and was able to establish relationships with other VI music professionals nationwide. Some of the other professionals in attendance said that it had given them inspiration and new ideas for working with some of their own students. More information on the conference and the UCL research into visually impaired musician’s lives can be found at http://vimusicians.ioe.ac.uk/
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Bowled over at Braeside For those of you under the impression that armchair bowling is a sedate, sedentary pastime think again. It’s a hard fought and hugely popular contest battled out by the residents at Braeside House. The residents’ lounge is always packed for the weekly armchair bowling tournament. Barry or Elaine from the activities team set up the target, the residents form a wide semi-circle around it, and there’s a buzz of anticipation as the game begins. This version of carpet bowls has been simply, yet cleverly, adapted to take into account the competitors’ visual impairment. An upside-down bucket is placed on the centre of a ringed target mat - increasing the visibility of the target. Sound is equally important to help residents finely hone their shots. Elaine or Barry stand behind the bucket, in a direct line with the person taking aim, and keep talking (something neither of them finds difficult!). The residents can then tune into their voices and roll the ball in the
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right direction. This technique not only improves the likeliness of hitting the target, it gives Elaine and Barry the perfect excuse for their non-stop flow of comedy banter! Watching the match, it’s clear that bowling is a lot of fun, but it also brings out the competitive streak in the residents, with all of them keen to produce their finest shots. On this occasion, resident Betty has a bias to the left which Barry helps correct. Cammy has a bit of a wiggle going on, while Iza is quite critical of how she’s playing ("it’s off to the North Pole" as Elaine jokes). Meanwhile, Nan quietly bowls winners most of the
time, and the two David’s and Betty are also invariably on target. At the end of a closely-fought contest, Betty has the highest score – a very respectable 900 points - and walks away as a well-deserved winner. Bowling is one of the most popular activities at Braeside House and it’s easy to see why, as everyone is really engaged during the game.
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Tea,cakes and a catch-up There was a tasty twist to Braeside House’s regular meetings for residents and families this spring, as everyone was brought together for an afternoon tea with homemade baking.
At the request of the residents, the meeting was held jointly for the first time. After the discussion there was plenty of social time to catch up, with a generous supply of tea, pies and cakes provided by the talented staff in Braeside’s kitchen: King’s infamous shortbread was a particularly sought-after favourite. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the afternoon tea proved immensely popular, and quite large numbers turned up for the joint event. “It was a bit different doing it this
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way” said Braeside House Manager Morag Francis. “It was pretty busy and there was a fair bit of discussion going on.” The discussion included updates on the plans for the garden development, the new care home being opened by Royal Blind in Paisley - based on the successful model at Braeside - and many other ideas being taken forward. The social side to the afternoon was of equal importance to the meeting. It provided a great chance for everyone to get together, meet with friends and family and have fun.
Pet therapy A visitor who made his first – but definitely not last appearance at Braeside recently was Sandy the dog. Sandy is a registered therapet and a brilliant afternoon was had with this calm and friendly greyhound, brought along by his owner Jane Jones. The residents really enjoyed his company, and Sandy was very happy to be centre of attention and meet lots of new pals! Sandy and Jane are now set to become regular visitors at Braeside some residents even asked if they could move in!
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How you can help! Regular donations are crucial to our work. Direct debit donations enable us to plan our work into the future, transforming the lives of blind and partially sighted people of all ages. If you would like to set up a direct debit then please complete this form. Your support is really appreciated. Please fill in this form and return to: Royal Blind, 50 Gillespie Crescent, Edinburgh, EH10 4JB
Title:
Forename:
Surname:
Address: Postcode: By giving us your email address you consent to receiving email updates from Royal Blind
E-mail address:
ORIGINATOR’S NUMBER 2 5 1 7 0 9
Instruction to your Bank or Building Society to pay Direct Debits Here is my gift of: £3
£5
£10
£15
Please debit the above amount MONTHLY on or around the (tick as appropriate):1st
Other £ QUARTERLY 15th
ANNUALLY
from my account
Commencing M M Y Y
Name & full address of your Bank/Building Society
Branch sort code:
To: The Manager(Name of Bank/Building Society)
Bank or Building Society account No:
Address Postcode Name(s) of account holder(s) Signed
Instruction to your Bank or Building Society: Please pay Royal Blind Direct Debits from the account detailed in this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Royal Blind and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.
Date
Make your donation worth almost a third more at no extra cost to you. If you are a taxpayer, you can make your donation worth more with Gift Aid. For every pound you give to us, we get an extra 25p from the Inland Revenue. All you need to do is check the statement below and tick the box. To qualify for Gift Aid, what you pay in income tax or capital gains tax must at least equal the amount we will claim in the tax year. I declare all gifts of money that I’ve made to Royal Blind in the past six years and all future gifts of money that I make from the date of this declaration are Gift Aid donations. Please notify us if you want to cancel this declaration, change your name or home address or no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. DATA PROTECTION – Royal Blind is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998, registration no. Z5603032. Information on the use of personal data by Royal Blind is available from: 50 Gillespie Crescent Edinburgh EH10 4JB. Registered Charity No. SC017167. Royal Blind values your support. We would like to keep you up to date with information about our fundraising appeals and our charitable work. Please tick here if you would prefer us not to contact you by post. Royal Blind will not pass your details to non-associated companies but we may provide your data to those associated organisations providing related products and services that may be of interest to you. These Organisations may contact you by post or by telephone concerning these offers. If you do not wish these organisations to contact you please tick here. The Direct Debit Guarantee:
This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits. If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit Royal Blind will notify you ten working days in
RoyalBlind.org
advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request Royal Blind to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request. If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by Royal Blind or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and
immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society. If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Royal Blind asks you to. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.
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