Every child has a right to read - Brooke

12.10.04pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 29th Mar 2007

Visually impaired children from all over the country lobbied their MPs to give them fair access to books

Hundreds of children travelled to Parliament on Wednesday, March 28th, to take part in a mass lobby day. The children came with their families and teachers to tell their MPs how difficult it is for young people with visual impairments to access books in appropriate formats such as large print, braille, or audio.

Annette Brooke, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Children, Young People and Families, hosted the event with the RNIB and the Right to Read Alliance. Despite suffering a recent broken hip, Annette made the journey to London and conducted the day's proceedings in a wheelchair.

One family told Annette that it had cost them £30 to purchase the latest Harry Potter book in a large print version. Often visually impaired children are not able to access books until months after their initial publication.

Childrens author, Jacqueline Wilson, joined Annette and a keen fan to support The Right To Read campaign

Annette was joined at the Right to Read lobby day by the Children's Laureate, Jacqueline Wilson, the author of many children's books, who enthusiastically supports the campaign and makes sure her books are available in the different formats. 

Annette said:

"Every child has a right to read - and that includes children with visual impairments and other reading problems such as dyslexia. 2008 is the national year of reading, it is imperative that action is taken now, so that all children are included."

There are around 20 000 visually impaired children aged 5-16 classified as needing special needs support. Spread across the country, the average is less than one visually impaired student per school.

Annette met with the Murray family from Poole with their son Lucas, who has a visual impairment.

Teachers and learning assistants work hard to provide accessible materials for their students, but due to the lack of centralised resources much time is spent on individual preparation, resulting in widespread duplication.

A recent study has shown that that fewer than one in 40 maths or science titles are available in large print at Key Stage 3 and that out of 143 English language textbooks surveyed only three were available in accessible format.

The campaign calls for a central resource bank and asks the Government to lead in the creation of an action plan with the voluntary, educational and publishing sectors to explore new systems through which educational publishers can make electronic copies of their textbooks available for sale or licensing to specialist teachers and agencies.

Annette said:

"This campaign is not asking for massive expenditure but calls for leadership and political will to address a shameful inequity in an affluent society."

ENDS

Notes to Editor

Wednesday 28th March 2007

In November 2006 the Right to Read Alliance launched the campaign report Where's My Book. The report found that blind and partially sighted children throughout the UK are losing out on their education as teachers struggle to provide textbooks they can read.

Annette recently tabled a parliamentary motion in support of the Right to Read campaign which has so far received the support of 94 Members of Parliament from across the parties.

EDM 1097

ACCESS TO TEXTBOOKS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN

Brooke, Annette

That this House notes that there are over 20,000 children in the UK between the ages of five and 16 with a visual impairment severe enough to require specialist educational support; welcomes the Royal National Institute for the Blind and Right to Read Alliance's recent report Where's my book; expresses concern at the report's findings that fewer than one in 40 maths or science titles are available in large print at Key Stage 3 and that out of 143 English language textbooks surveyed only three were available in accessible formats; further notes that 92 per cent. of teachers surveyed stated that delays in getting text books in large print or Braille are having an effect on the social inclusion and educational development of visually impaired children; and calls on the Government to lead in the creation of an action plan with the voluntary, educational and publishing sectors to explore new systems through which educational publishers can make electronic copies of their textbooks available for sale or licensing to specialist teachers and agencies.