Sight Scotland

13/10/2026

This National Braille Week, we're highlighting our survey helping to build the case for braille food labelling across the UK.

Braille on food packaging can make a huge difference to independence, safety and confidence for people with sight loss.

Read the article in Eye News to find out why it matters 👇

Blind and partially sighted people across the UK are being invited to share their experiences of accessing food packaging as part of a new survey designed to strengthen the case for mandatory braille food labelling.

12/10/2026

It's National Braille Week!

This week, we'll be sharing information about braille and highlighting our Braille Food Labelling Campaign, which calls for braille on food packaging to help blind and partially sighted people identify products independently and safely.

National Braille Week celebrates braille and raises awareness of the vital role it plays in the independence, education and everyday lives of blind and partially sighted people across Scotland.

Invented by Louis Braille in the 1820s, braille is a tactile code made up of six raised dots in different combinations. Even in today's digital world, it remains an essential tool for literacy, independent learning, privacy and choice.

Find out more about braille 👇

Braille is a tactile system that allows blind and partially sighted people to access literacy by reading and writing. Braille is read by touch, by using the pads of the fingers to feel the letters and symbols. Braille can be written in a variety of ways; using specialist equipment or specific comput...

09/10/2026

IVI webinar: New evidence for vision rehabilitation in Scotland

Join us to hear about new evidence showing that vision rehabilitation delivered in Scotland works.

The IVI Scotland Study, carried out by the The University of Melbourne and the Centre for Eye Research Australia for Vision Collaborative Scotland, and funded by Sight Scotland and Thomas Pocklington Trust found gains in independence, wellbeing, mobility and participation in society for both blind and partially sighted adults.

Professor Lauren Ayton and Dr Fleur O’Hare will share the findings in an MS Teams webinar:

11 November 2026 | 8:30 am - 9:30 am

Members of Vision Collaborative Scotland will then give a short presentation, followed by discussion about what the findings mean for policy, practice and future investment in Scotland’s vision rehabilitation workforce and services, as well as implications for policy in other nations.

Find out more and sign up below.

Please share with colleagues and anyone who may be interested in the future of vision rehabilitation.

Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland Visibility Scotland RNIB Scotland RWPN - Rehabilitation Workers Professional NetworkSight Scotland VeteransFight for Sight Guide Dogs Scotland Thomas Pocklington Trust Visionary UK

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

07/10/2026

Are you passionate about empowering blind and vision-impaired people to live independently and confidently?

The Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma in Vision Impairment Rehabilitation are Scotland's only vision rehabilitation qualifications.

Designed for professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, this flexible, part-time programme combines online learning with practical placements, allowing you to develop specialist skills while applying your learning in real-world settings.

Courses commence in January 2027.

Vision Rehabilitation Specialists play a vital role in helping people adapt to their vision impairment, regain independence, reconnect with their communities, and achieve their personal goals at home, in education, and in the workplace. From mobility and daily living skills to confidence-building and emotional support, you will gain the expertise needed to make a lasting difference to people's lives.

Delivered in partnership with Vision Collaborative Scotland, this pioneering programme is helping to grow Scotland's vision rehabilitation workforce. Scholarships are also available through the Vision Collaborative Scotland scholarship programme.

Study at your own pace. Gain specialist qualifications. Build a career with purpose. Transform lives through rehabilitation.

The courses and scholarship programme are open for applications now – find out more below.

Sight Scotland Veterans RNIB Scotland Guide Dogs Scotland Visibility Scotland Thomas Pocklington Trust RWPN - Rehabilitation Workers Professional Network Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland Visionary UK

Vision Collaborative Scotland is working with the University of Strathclyde to provide courses in vision impairment rehabilitation. Applications are open now for a January 2027 start, and scholarships are available. Find out more here.

06/10/2026

Sight Loss Councils Scotland Listening Month: Have your say!

What matters most to you as a person with a visual impairment living in Scotland?

This October, Sight Loss Councils Scotland are asking people with lived experience of visual impairment to share what matters to them. We want to hear about the things that affect your everyday life. From transport and public spaces to healthcare, information, technology, culture and local services. We are hosting an in person drop in event on:

Glasgow: 12th of October 10am - 3pm Venue – Glasgow at Civic House, Civic House, 26 Civic St, Glasgow G4 9RH

Dumfries: 13th of October 10am - 3pm Venue – D&G at Midsteeple Quarter, The Green Room, The Standard, 139 High Street, Dumfries, DG1 2QT

Edinburgh: 13th October, 10am-4:30pm – Sight Scotland Veterans, 2a Robertson Avenue, Edinburgh, EH11 1PZ

Digital: 21st October 6:30pm-9pm – email [email protected] to sign up

If you are unable to make it along to these sessions, please fill out the survey on our website.

Your feedback will help Sight Loss Councils Scotland understand the priorities of blind and partially sighted people across Scotland and inform our future engagement, campaigning and influencing work.

Your voice matters, and every response helps us build a clearer picture of what needs to change.

More info here: https://bit.ly/3Yx1ANt

Image description: A deep blue Sight Loss Councils branded flyer with a circle eye design in the right hand corner and the following text written: Listening Month Drop In Sessions. Monday 12 October: Glasgow 10 am to 3 pm. Tuesday 13 October: Dumfries and Galloway, 10 am to 3pm, Edinburgh 10 am till 4:30 pm. Sight Loss Councils: a vision for change.

06/10/2026

So proud of our Policy Group member and former Royal Blind School pupil Sam Gough who is currently smashing it with the Para Lionesses at the IBSA Blind Football European Championship!

Well done Sam 👏

The Para Lionesses captain previewed the tournament, which starts on Saturday 3 October.

02/10/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who popped along to Sight Scotland Veterans' Hawkhead and Linburn Veterans Centres for our Doors Open Days!

Across the two days, we welcomed 266 visitors who came to look around, meet our veterans and staff, enjoy a cuppa, and have a go at everything from archery and curling to crafts and poppy making.

It was fantastic to see so many people through the doors, sharing stories, making connections and discovering what makes our centres such special and welcoming places.

We loved meeting so many new faces and look forward to welcoming many of you back again soon.

Image descriptions:

1. Two Sight Scotland Veterans staff members are smiling and standing behind a yellow eye shaped frame. Surrounding them are by purple and yellow balloons. The frame has the text "Tackling vision loss together" on it.

2. An adult and two kids are sitting at a round table. They are smiling and doing arts and crafts with black paper and chalk, making creations that look like planets and shooting stars.

3. A group of four people are smiling and sitting at a table. They are holding red poppies that they have made. The room is bright and has art supplies and paintings on display.

4. A Sight Scotland Veterans staff member is standing beside and watching someone who is actively engaged in a game of indoor curling.

30/09/2026

Screeching tyres, roaring engines and a lot of very happy people at the end of it.

A brilliant day out for the veterans at our sister charity. One of them put it best: “I can talk for Britain, but yeah, I'm speechless for the day.”

Visually impaired veterans supported by Sight Scotland Veterans get behind the wheel at Driftland for an unforgettable driving experience.

27/09/2026

Quick question. When did you last have an eye test?

If you can't quite remember, treat this as your nudge.

A lot of eye conditions have no early symptoms. Glaucoma quietly affects the edges of your vision first. Diabetic retinopathy can develop with no warning signs. Changes from AMD can be subtle at the start. In every case, a routine eye test can pick things up long before you'd notice yourself.

The general advice is an eye test at least every two years, and more often if you're higher risk or something has changed.

It takes about half an hour. Tell us in the comments, when did you last go? 👇

[Image description: On a purple banner, white text reads "When did you last have an eye test?" Below, a person with short dark hair, seen from behind, faces an eye chart on a wall while a hand in a white coat points to a letter with a pointer]

26/09/2026

There's no Shakespeare Square in Edinburgh any more. But step back to 1793 and you'd find a rented house there, where nine people sat down to learn a trade, so blind and partially sighted people could earn a living and support themselves.

That was 1793, when we were only the third organisation in the world set up to improve the lives of blind people.

More than 230 years on, those workshops have grown into a school, a braille press, care homes and support across Scotland. In 2020 we became Sight Scotland. The name changed. The reason we exist didn't.

Check out our timeline below. 👇

From our beginnings in 1793 we've become one of Scotland's largest charities helping people impacted by sight loss. Learn more the history of Sight Scotland and how we have changed, grown and adapted for over 225 years.