Home> News> NEWS FEATURES

No Braille Books For Blind Children The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) are claiming that thousands of blind and partially sighted children are being denied proper access to books in Braille. There are over 20,000 school age children in the UK with sight problems which require specialist treatment and the majority of them are in mainstream schools. The RNIB claimed that only 12% of maths books, and 8% of science books were available in Braille or large print and that there were no atlases or dictionaries at all available for 14-16-year-olds. In a new report entitled "Right to Read,' RNIB campaigns officer David Mann said: 'It's a scandal that in today's digital age of instant information, blind and partially-sighted children are going without the most vital of all things in school - books.'   Article continues below advertisement   Mann praised teachers for doing the best they could but said the system was inefficient and that it was down to the government to remedy it. The RNIB's survey found 90% of teachers saying blind children were being affected both educationally and socially. Many teachers had to photocopy, enlarge or re-type textbooks. The RNIB is calling for a central pool of books to be made available online for teachers to download and adapt. The Department for Education and Skills said that special educational needs was a government priority and that spending per child had increased by over £1,000 in real terms since 1998 with local authority expenditure increasing from £2.8 bn in 2001-02 to £4.5 bn in 2006-07. In a related move the RNIB in Scotland says that transcription to Braille and large print for children varies widely in local authorities. They met with MSPs from all parties in the Scottish Parliament to call for a national transcription service to be funded by the Scottish Executive. Look at other News Headlines here.! Our Main News Section November 2006     NEWS FEATURES  Holiday Heartbreak  40% Increase in Real Nappy Sales  Swing By For Family Fun With The NCT  UNICEF, Pampers and UK Mums Help Save Lives  Apples and Kisses For Children With Cancer  more.... RSS News Feed  more.... News  Charlotte Church Suffers Constant Pregnancy Pain  Miscarriage Affects Next Pregnancy  Fans Could Cut Cot Deaths  New Safe Downs Syndrome Test  Toddlers Suffer Post-Trauma Stress Too  more.... Latest Forum Discussions The house is so big and she doesn't like cleaning Jamie Lynn Spears Pregnant Again Parents of Rhys Jones arrive at court today Supernanny on the naughty step Apparently my kids are living on the brink of child poverty! What a lovely child! New Love Hearts Slogans  Boobs in the news  Try your luck in a Free Competition  Join our Product Testing team