ACCESS TO TEXTBOOKS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN

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.