Lead organisation: The Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC)
Partner organisation: VICTA
The Navigating The Early Years project has been developed to address a significant gap in service provision for VI children aged 0-5 and their families, offering emotional, practical and peer-led guidance during a critical stage of adjustment. Having already delivered a successful pilot event collaboratively with VICTA, with expert led workshops and peer support in a fully accessible setting, 100% of families reported increased confidence, knowledge and connection.
The organisations will use this funding to enter a formal partnership with sight-loss charity and ensure more children and families can be reached over a wider geographic area.
Why it matters
When families learn of their child's VI they often experience extreme emotional upheaval and many only learn of support services when they’re already at crisis point. Events like this mean that they will be equipped with the knowledge and connections they need to support them throughout such a crucial time period.
Outcomes will include:
Reduced parental isolation and improved family well being through stronger peer networks
Increase in parent’s confidence when supporting their children navigating services
Increased resilience for families when going through early interventions
A replicable and scalable model that can be used to reach more families over a wider area over a longer period of time