Conference Workshops: Wednesday 27 September 2023

Progressive Sight Loss – Meeting the Needs of Affected Families

Join Retina UK and Usher Kids UK to explore the type of support needed for families and individuals who have received a diagnoses of progressive sight loss for their child or themselves, and the particular challenges and needs associated with this type of vision loss.

Facilitators:

• Chloe Joyner, Founder and CEO, Usher Kids UK
• Paula McGrath, Deputy CEO, Retina UK

Audience:  All

Geography:  UK Wide

Thank you to Sight Scotland for sponsoring this workshop.

Collaborative Campaigning:  A Panel Discussion

Join us for an interactive discussion aimed at enhancing collaborative campaigning and influencing across the sector. The panel, compromising of Visionary members and partners, will lead discussions on how the sector can benefit from working together to campaign and influence, support each other, identify shared goals and engage with local communities to make a difference to the lives of blind and partially sight people. We will explore recent successes and challenging experiences to develop future aspirations for working together.

Panel:

• Eleanor Briggs, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns, Guide Dogs UK (Panel Host)
• Laura Walker, CEO, Visibility Scotland
• Owen Williams, Director, Wales Council for the Blind
• Scott Jobson, CEO, MySight York
• Bernadette Mcintosh, Campaign Officer, Vision Support Barrow and District
• Sophie Dodgeon, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, RNIB
• Mike Bell, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigns, Thomas Pocklington Trust

Audience: All

Geography: UK Wide

Ch-ch-changes or Learning from my Mistakes!!

Using examples from 18 months of change in a small charity, Lauren will facilitate discussions to support attendees to:

• Strategically analyse the need for change in their charity.
• Be bold and persistent with change programmes.
• Lead change with a values focus.

Using her experience as a case study, we will be looking at:

• Why we needed to change (and how we knew) linked to situation analysis theory and discussion of reasons for change.
• How we went about the changes (what we got right and mistakes) linked to change management theory and values-based leadership.

The session will be interactive with small group discussions throughout for delegates to apply learning to their own situations.

Facilitators:

• Lauren Williams, CEO, Vision North Somerset
• Claire Atkinson, Service Manager, Vision North Somerset

Audience: Leaders, small and medium sized organisations

Geography: UK Wide

Thank you to Specsavers for sponsoring this workshop.

Recruitment, Respect and Retention – The Keys to Volunteer Engagement

There are 165,000 charities in the UK, and over 95% of them are classified as ‘small’. The sector is overwhelmingly made up of incredible non-profits who are operating on very limited budgets, often with 2-3 people trying to do the work of 10.  It cannot be put more plainly than volunteers are often the single biggest difference between a charity being able to function, or not.

Amid a cost-of-living crisis and spiralling wage inflation, the need for selfless, dedicated and skilled people offering their time and effort for free has never been more essential.

In this presentation, Joe Green from Third Sector Network will highlight the ways charities can understand, appreciate, and engage the volunteers more effectively. How to attract capable people, support and develop them professionally and give them the desire to stay with you and succeed together as a team.  Volunteer engagement is quite simply an area that no charity can afford to overlook or underestimate the importance of.

Facilitators: Joe Green, Founder, Third Sector Network

Audience: All

Geography: UK Wide

Thank you to Macular Society for sponsoring this workshop.

How to Fix the Access to Work Programme

Delays to the UK Government’s Access to Work (AtW) scheme are holding back many people with sight loss from entering the workplace or carrying out existing roles. Working together, RNIB and Visionary have taken action to influence DWP to address these delays.  This session will outline what progress is being made to fix this, what else needs to happen and how you can help with the campaign.

We invite you to attend to find out how you can help us to campaign for the improvements in the AtW system that are needed.

We’ll also allocate some time at the session to discuss the most common areas of support that people with sight loss are asking AtW to assist with and how best to ensure that the correct support is provided.

Martin leads RNIB’s Employment and Technology Services and has worked in the field of sight loss and employment for many years. He is passionate about removing barriers for people with sight loss to find and retain work.

Facilitators:

• Martin O’Kane, Strategic Lead for Employment and Technology, RNIB
• Bhadrika Chauhan, Employment Manager, RNIB

Audience: All

Geography: UK Wide

Getting Involved with the UK National Eye Health and Hearing Study (UKNEHS)

The workshop will introduce delegates to the progress of the UKNEHS, its local and international reach, and how this project bridges health and social care, and policy implications. The UKNEHS aims to discuss with delegates the key indicators and barriers to uptake of sensory care services and offer those participating an opportunity to join this national project.

Facilitators:

• Professor Rupert Bourne, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon and Professor of Ophthalmology, Cambridge University Hospital
• Michael Bowen, Director of Research and Knowledge, The College of Optometrists
• Audience: All

Geography: UK Wide

Workshop Session 2: 15:30-16:45

Redefining Possibilities: Unleashing the Power of AI

An inspiring journey into the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI). This workshop, curated for Visionary members and partners, will demystify AI, highlighting its practical uses in everyday operations, and exploring its potential to revolutionise the lives of those we serve. From operational enhancements to life-changing adaptations for blind and partially sighted people you’ll discover how AI is reshaping the way we help.

Led by Simon Moxon, founder of Together.ly, you’ll learn, be inspired, and leave equipped with the knowledge to navigate the evolving landscape of AI.

Facilitators: Simon Moxon, Founder and CEO, Together.ly

Audience: All

Geography:  UK Wide

Thank you to Together.ly for sponsoring and hosting this workshop.

Art Beyond Vision: The Transformative Effect of Running an Art Project for the First Time

In this workshop, CEO of Wakefield District Sight Aid Hayley will talk about how emerging from Covid has made her braver as a leader, and how this has led to the delivery of their first ever fully accessible art project with local artist Ruth Fones. Through the power of collaboration and co-design with people with lived experience of sight loss, the concept for Art Beyond Vision was born, and some funding for a pilot project through Wakefield Council’s Culture Grants, was secured.

We expect our service users to adapt and try new things all the time, but Hayley and Ruth will share how Art Beyond Vision challenged them both to do things differently and for the first time. Both will share what they have given and what they have gained from the project. They will also talk about the challenges of keeping accessibility at the heart of everything they do, bearing in mind a wide range of previous creative experience, plus a huge spectrum of sight loss.

By the end of the workshop, you will feel inspired to create your own art project and have gained some great advice on how to apply for funding to get started.

Facilitators:

• Hayley Grocock, CEO, Wakefield District Sight Aid
• Ruth Fones, Independent Artist and Teacher

Audience: All

Geography: UK Wide

Developing Sustainable Children and Young People’s Services – A Panel Discussion

This panel session will focus on developing sustainable children and young people’s services.  Panel members from local and national organisations will be joined by a parent to share their experiences of:

• developing new services,
• evidencing the needs specialist services,
• working in partnership to create opportunities for children and young people,
• working with statutory organisations and
• how a Children and Young People’s service can be embedded into an existing organisation.

We are honoured to be joined by a parent with lived experience, who will share their thoughts on how focussed services can make a difference to children, young people and families.

Panel:

• Colin Whitbourn, The Powell Family Foundation (Panel Host)
• Claire Park, Chief Executive, Sight Advice South Lakes
• Nick Schofield, Chief Executive, VICTA
• Mark Sanderson, Mark Sanderson, Parent & Assistant Director Children, Young People and Families, Guide Dogs

Audience: All

Geography: UK Wide

Thank you to The Powell Family Foundation for supporting us to create this panel session.

Fit for the Future? Rehabilitation and Habilitation

Using the model of how rehab is evolving in Scotland, Laura Walker, CEO of Visibility Scotland will discuss the role of rehabilitation and habilitation, how that is now and how it could be in the future.

Laura will talk about the current challenges being experienced by the profession and how these might be addressed. As a qualified rehab practitioner, Laura brings her own knowledge and experience to this discussion. She will seek views from workshop participants that can be fed back to Visionary in order to influence our regular Visionary Rehab Forum and also be highlighted within the VI Charity Sector Partnership conversations.

Workshop participants will learn more about the Scottish Visual Services Steering Group and what the group is setting out to do. Laura will discuss how this model can influence a UK wide response and how we can collectively make things better for people who need rehab and hab services.

Facilitator: Laura Walker, CEO, Visibility Scotland

Audience: Practitioners and Leaders

Geography: UK Wide

Thank you to Blind Veterans UK for sponsoring this workshop.

Working Together to Transform Domestic Violence Refuges into Sight-Friendly Spaces

After the successful Vision Foundation partnership project between Beacon Centre and CHADD, we have explored how VI people could be more vulnerable to domestic abuse and we have listened to people’s experiences of accessible services. We have shared training and skills, devised joint training and worked locally to make refuge spaces more accessible.

This workshop will be the launch of our new toolkit. Our toolkit for accessible refuge spaces has been designed to share across the UK, linking VI support services to their local domestic abuse services, helping to make the journey smoother for VI people accessing refuge accommodation.

This workshop will help delegates explore the link between sight loss and domestic abuse and introduce new partnership working.

Facilitators:

• Becky Green, Engagement Manager, Beacon Centre for the Blind
• Dani Walker, Independent Domestic Violence Advisor, Churches Housing Association of Dudley & District (CHADD)

Audience: All

Geography: UK Wide

Thank you to Specsavers for sponsoring this workshop.

Travel Matters:  How Accessing Public Transport Impacts on the Lives of Blind and Partially Sighted People

This workshop will share an outline of Visionary’s exciting new research project which is working with Ella Burton and Maeve Garner, at the research agency Revealing Reality, to find out more about how access to public transport impacts on the lives of blind and partially sighted people.

Our ambition for this year long project is to gather information from participating organisations and learn alongside them as they understand more about the impact of public transport and develop ways of influencing local providers to improve the situation. We would be interested to know what the situation is within your area and how you think it could be different.

Attending this session will help us all to understand more about the impact that public transport has on the lives of blind and partially sighted people, and to identify where improvements could be made to the transport system. By supporting us with this project, you will be directly helping to improve the experiences of blind and partially sighted people when using public transport in your area and beyond.

Facilitators:

• Ella Burton, Senior Researcher, Revealing Reality
• Maeve Garner, Associate Director, Revealing Reality

Audience: All

Geography: UK Wide

Thank you to Motability for supporting us to host this workshop.