The Government has been accused of abandoning young blind and partially sighted children while bankers continue to receive huge bonuses.
Dr Tom Pey, the head of the Royal London Society for Blind People (RLSBP), claimed that the Government is sticking rigidly to the “political dogma” of only educating young, blind people in mainstream schools. This approach deprives these children of the opportunity to learn from one another the essential life skills they need for their future.
Speaking at the launch of a campaign to save Dorton House, a school for blind children, from closure, Dr Pey argued that this and other similar specialised schools could be kept open if 2.5 per cent of bankers’ bonuses were diverted to fund these services. “The government has backed off from taxing excessive bonuses and is making up lost revenues by consigning another generation of young blind people to a life without hope” he said.
Dr Pey was joined by politicians, campaign supporters and parents at the event in Kent on 10 September. Tony Negus, the father of a ten-year-old at Dorton House, said: “It cost more than half a million pounds to enable my son Zac to survive his birth. Why then is it impossible to fund a decent education for him at a school that is designed especially for people like him.”
