Royal London Society for the Blind

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The Royal London Society for the Blind (RLSB) is a British private organization and was founded in 1838 by Thomas Mark Lucas .

General

Lucas did pioneering work in the field of tactile reading and brought about the introduction of the now internationally valid form of Braille from Louis Braille in England . In addition to the educational activities, the RLSB opened the first workshops in which blind and visually impaired people were offered new training and work opportunities.

The RLSB is a non-profit organization that offers blind, visually impaired and multiply disabled people of all ages professional and modern training opportunities and identifies with their needs and demands.

Dorton House School

In 1997 the "Royal London Society for the Blind" relocated its headquarters to their school campus at Dorton House in Seal near Sevenoaks , which opened in 1956. From here the RLSB offers a service for the families of blind and visually impaired children, there is a kindergarten, school and college.

The founder of this organization is currently the Duchess of Gloucester , Anita Dobson and Jayne Torvill were recently named as vice presidents of the society.

Its headquarters are on the Dorton Campus ( London ), where the organization runs the Dorton College of Further Education , the Brian Johnston Center (with Kindergarten and Family Support Services) and the Dorton House School.

Service areas

  • Dorton College
    Blind and visually impaired students can choose from a very wide range of courses here, as there are partnerships with three local colleges. This makes it possible to take courses at Dorton College as well as at one of the partner institutions.
  • Job placement
    A special employment project was launched to curb the high unemployment rate among blind and visually impaired people. (Currently 75 percent of blind and visually impaired adults are unemployed in England.) Job search assistance, cheap loans on IT equipment for employers and ongoing educational programs are all expected to contribute significantly to increased employment.
  • Industrial projects
    The RLSB operates an engineering factory in North London, where blind and visually impaired people work for a number of large customers. Further training courses in engineering are also offered to further increase the future employment prospects of employees.

Arguments

In May 2008, the RLSB published a letter announcing the release of some workers. This measure was strongly condemned by the Community, a UK trade union, on the grounds that it did not pay attention to the needs of workers.

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