How we deliver to groups who are blind or partially sighted

RNIB Scotland - Haggeye youth group

In 2023 we were invited to Haggeye, a youth forum run by RNIB Scotland, to connect in person with partially sighted young people in Scotland.

Haggeye is RNIB Scotland's award-winning youth forum that gives young people with sight loss a voice. It provides a friendly and supportive environment which allows young people to raise awareness of what it's like to be blind or partially sighted in Scotland today and what's important to them.

Haggeye met at the Forth Valley Sensory Centre, which is a fantastic accessible venue, designed to make moving around with a visual impairment as simple as possible.

The two houses of Parliament

We use props, such as squeezy Big Bens and different kinds of fabric to provide sensory input as we talk through the topics, covering the House of Commons, House of Lords and the role of the Monarchy.

Devolution

Activities using representative objects develop learning without using visual slides. For example, a bag representing various ‘devolved or not devolved’ issues (a toy car for transport, a penny for the economy) provides a prompt for discussions.

Representation

We talk about the breadth of ways members of Parliament can represent specific groups – for example, there are members of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons who are visually impaired. We also work closely with MPs in the constituencies we work in, so the MP came to visit and did a Q+A with participants about their role.

Legislation

We always do our research into important legislation which affects groups we’re working with, so we can talk about ways Parliament directly impacts their lives.

We have since developed our online offering and in 2024, we ran a fun and inclusive virtual session with the Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) Young Voices group.

TPT Young Voices is a group of young people aged 11-18 years old from across England. They come together to share ideas, develop skills and are passionate about having a positive impact on themselves and other blind and partially sighted young people.

Thomas Pocklington Trust logo

TPT Young Voices are a group comprising members from across England so requested a digital engagement session. We came together on Microsoft Teams for an hour of interactive engagement, learning and lively debate.

Sound effects and verbal description

Rather than relying on visual slides and graphics, we used Parliament inspired sound effects to bring the two Houses to life. These included the famous 'bongs' from the Elizabeth Tower and familiar phrases and noises from the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

We talked about the previous work and membership of the APPG on Eye Health and Visual Impairment and how members of the Lords have raised awareness of issues affecting people with a disability.

Feedback from TPT Young Voices Participants

"I thought the session we received was really good. I especially like the debate section and the idea of practising arguing for and against which can really help us when pushing our ideas forward as we are working on our own campaigns. Knowing how to speak with people who may not be supportive is really important. "

"I found it really helpful to know about things such as petitions and that anyone can set them up and if they reach a certain number of supporters, they will be debated. This could be helpful to us in the future with our campaigns."

"The best bit was understanding how we can inform parliament and make them aware of things we care about, such as speaking to your MP. Phil told us about who to contact, how to contact them, how to start a petition. All of that was really useful."

Feedback from TPT Student Participation Manager - Kate O'Hagan

" I was really impressed with the whole UK Parliament Team. Their communication with me was fantastic in understanding the needs of the group, how to make the session accessible and ideas for debate topics which linked to areas they were passionate about and working on already. The hour flew by, we could easily have had longer. The session really helped them understand the inner workings of Parliament and they all said how helpful it would be for their own campaign work we are working on as a group. Thanks again to Phil and her colleagues for a great session"

What we offer

• We visit schools and colleges in person and online, to run free sessions for your students about UK Parliament and its work.
• We offer EMPOWER! workshops, for adults with learning disabilities. These highly accessible sessions typically last 45 minutes and are adjusted around the needs of your group. They’re designed for a minimum of 10 people, including carers.
• We offer EMPOWER! workshops, for adults with learning disabilities. These highly accessible sessions typically last 45 minutes and are adjusted around the needs of your group. They’re designed for a minimum of 10 people, including carers.

• We also run SEND workshops, which are sensory based sessions aimed at pre-curriculum age students between 7-19 years old

Please get in touch to find out how the Participation Team can work with your organisation to deliver tailored outreach activities.