Right to Read Campaign

Speech by Alison McInnes delivered to The Scottish Parliament on Thu 8th May 2008

This is the first time that I have had a motion selected for a members' business debate. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the matter and I thank all the members who supported my motion.

A couple of months ago, I attended a fringe meeting at a party conference. I do not know about other members' experience but, for me, fringe meetings, although undoubtedly enjoyable and informative, do not always spur me to action. However, I left that one determined to do what I could to highlight a problem. I was particularly inspired by George McLaughlin, a young man who spoke at the meeting. George has been blind since birth because of retinopathy. He shared his experiences of being at Uddingston grammar school, which has a special resource unit for pupils with a visual impairment. He was in no doubt about the value of accessible study materials or that they had allowed him to keep up with his sighted peers. He praised his school for the way in which it made his learning inclusive.

George was followed by a speaker from RNIB Scotland who described an alternative experience. We heard about pupils waiting months for text books to be transcribed into a readable format; students' computers and equipment breaking down and not being replaced for weeks; a lack of absence cover for specialist staff; and young people studying for exams without access to past papers or study aids. I was shocked. As about 80 per cent of our learning is visual, it is not difficult to imagine how disruptive and frustrating it would be to have only limited access to study materials. Through discussions with teachers and specialist support staff, I have learned that an individual's understanding and acceptance of their visual impairment is vital to educational progress, as is developing self-image and confidence. However, progress can easily be hindered by a lack of resources, and anything that singles out a pupil as different can undermine their confidence. Good resources minimise the frustration of the impairment.

In my region, Craigiebarns primary school in Dundee has been praised for its highly inclusive approach to supporting pupils with visual impairment-I am looking forward to visiting it soon. The school provides a child-led learning experience with a whole-school policy that supports the visually impaired's right to be treated equally. Unfortunately, local authorities in Scotland vary in their approach to and success in producing accessible curriculum materials. In some areas, provision is excellent and of a high standard but, in others, services are not as well developed.

It is estimated that a pupil will require about 375 educational textbooks in primary school and 750 in secondary school, and that is not counting recreational reading. To transcribe those textbooks is an enormous task for authorities to undertake, which perhaps explains why the picture throughout Scotland is patchy. As a result, in some areas, blind or partially sighted children often have to wait months for materials and, in some cases, the material never arrives. That severely inhibits their ability to learn and further reduces their life opportunities.

I understand the problems facing local authorities. It can take hours to produce a Braille version of something that might take only 15 minutes to teach. When pupils study for highers, it can take all the time of support staff and more to prepare material for them. Aberdeen City Council, in explaining the matter to me, stated:

"When the student was taking standard grades the volume of work that had to be adapted and the timescales within which we had to work meant that a significant amount of the work was adapted by the (specialist) teacher in her own time".

RNIB's campaign for the establishment of a national transcription service to co-ordinate the provision of learning materials in alternative forms to all blind and partially sighted school pupils offers a cost-effective solution to the problem. A national service would help to address inequalities and provide consistency in the quality, timescales and choice of provision, as well as freeing up teaching time. Most important, it would bring about a step change in those young people's experience of school. For some authorities, the number of blind and partially sighted pupils who require alternative formats is so small that it is not economically viable to provide the service. It would surely be more cost effective and efficient to produce those centrally. If materials are already adapted and held electronically, little time or effort is required to provide additional copies, whether they are in Braille, large print or DAISY-digital accessible information system-format.

Ideally, the national transcription service would also hold a stock of equipment for use by blind and partially sighted pupils. In that way, if a child's equipment broke down, a replacement could be available immediately.

I have written to all four councils in my area, and all of them would welcome a transcription service. I would like to quote a couple of comments. Aberdeen City Council said:

"Time scales are crucial and work has to be individualised to suit the student. Maths and science work is particularly difficult and time consuming. If there were a bank of materials made available this would considerably reduce workload and stress and free up valuable teacher time which could be spent in the class room."

Aberdeenshire Council commented that

"a national transcription service would be supported by our sensory support service as current practice is dependent on networking at meetings and conferences, informal discussions and extensive research by our vision support teachers. As visual impairment is a low incidence disability a national resource would ensure improved curricular access for all blind and partially sighted pupils across Scotland."

Currently, more than 75 per cent of blind and partially sighted adults in Scotland are unemployed. Recent research indicates that almost 1,100 pupils across Scotland are blind or partially sighted, so let us make sure that they do not face the same prospect. The best way to equip young Scots with employment opportunities is through education and skills training. However, the opportunities will be extremely limited for visually impaired Scottish children if they cannot access curriculum materials.

The right to learn is a principle that is woven into our society. Where there is concern that visually impaired schoolchildren are not getting materials in time, or in the format that they need, Parliament has a duty to examine the issue and offer solutions.

My solution, and the RNIB's solution, is the establishment of a national educational transcription service. Such a service is overdue. Each year's delay means scores of young people not being able to reach their full potential.

I hope that tonight's debate will demonstrate cross-party support for taking a fresh look at this problem; I hope, too, that the Minister for Children and Early Years is able to give his support in principle and that he will agree to work with stakeholders to make the service a reality.