Braille teacher wants method taught more widely

A Braille teacher from Sheffield has called for more opportunities for people to learn the six-dot tactile reading system.

Speaking on World Braille Day, Alan Thorpe said there needed to be more investment in Braille "not only financially, but in its value as a form of communication".

It comes as the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) called on the government to protect and increase budgets for local authority vision impairment services.

A spokesperson for the charity said Braille was "vital in helping blind and partially sighted people succeed in society, employment and education".

A government spokesperson said they had invested an extra £1bn in support measures for children with special educational needs and disabilities in 2025-26, taking their total investment to £11.9bn.

Mr Thorpe, who is visually impaired and grew up partially sighted, said there was no central funding available for people to learn Braille and there was a shortage of teachers.

"There's more education needed for children, young adults, plus also people who are supposed to be teaching and facilitating those people to learn," he said.

Dave Williams, the RNIB's Inclusive Design Ambassador, said Braille was "very closely linked with dignity, credibility, opportunity and the emancipation of blind people".

"Braille means I can instantly identify medication, play board games with my family and friends, and I was able to read bedtime stories with my son when he was younger," he added.

Mr Thorpe said a greater understanding of the 200-year-old communication method "would be an excellent step forward".

"To the general population, a wider understanding of Braille and how useful it can be would then also potentially help us further down the line when we have got these people deciding and designing packaging on boxes and packets in supermarkets."

He fixes Braille typewriters for a living and is the UK's only remaining certified fixer of the Perkins Brailler - a typewriting machine for people who are visually impaired.

"I want to pass my skills on," he said of his search for an apprentice.

The RNIB also called on the NHS to commit to making correspondence available in Braille to blind and partially sighted people.

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