D&D News May 2006: Royal London Society for the Blind
We are now working with a locally-based charity, the Royal London Society for the Blind. They are using the Excellence Model as the management and improvement framework for the charity, and as they are based only about a mile from Derek's home he is our main point of contact for them. It is pleasantly unusual for us to have a client within walking distance!
The origins of the RLSB go right back to 1838, when it was started in London as the 'London Society for Teaching the Blind to Read'. Considerable changes have been made over the subsequent 160 years plus. The charity has just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the formal opening of its Dorton House School in Seal, near Sevenoaks. As well as a school, the Society also now operates a nursery and a college of further education in Seal, and in London an engineering factory and an employment services department to help get more blind and partially sighted people into the workplace.
The different service units of the Society are subject to many external educational and employment inspection regimes, and they do really well in those. The Society has decided to use the Excellence Model to ensure that there are consistent relevant approaches across all service units, and also within the charity's vital administrative departments.
At different times in our previous lives in NatWest we both worked with blind or partially-sighted people who were really effective members of the teams. Seeing the efforts of the Society to help more people to have fulfilling educations and then move into work is tremendously impressive. Seeing the students and workers overcome problems that most people can scarcely imagine is a positive but often humbling experience. As part of the school's 50th anniversary celebrations, there was a short concert put on by the students for the patron, HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, and other distinguished guests (and Derek!) which showcased their musical talents.
If you are interested in learning more, do visit the RLSB website (opens in new window). If you can help in any way with the Society's aims, we know they will be delighted to hear from you - do mention our name!
