How we make a difference

Our long term aim is to create inclusive communities where everyone can live equally. We do this by creating more opportunities for people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss to live, love, thrive and belong.

Our social care and innovative programmes will result in:

What do you think of, when you think of ambition? 

We think of our eye care team, who secured a Government commitment to our pioneering special schools eye care service, transforming thousands of children’s lives and the next generation of people with learning disabilities.

We think of people we’re supporting in their homes, who are taking control of their lives – learning new skills, getting jobs, having babies, getting married, doing the everyday things we take for granted, but things they never thought possible.

We think of skilled and talented people with disabilities breaking down barriers to build new careers through our Ready, Willing and Able supported employment programme.

We think of our small but mighty Listen Up! Team reaching almost 1,400 people in one year, sharing their lived experiences of disability.

We think of teams across SeeAbility using their wide ranging expertise to support people to live ambitious lives and achieve things they never thought possible.

Ambition is limitless. It’s as big as you can dream. And we won’t stop dreaming of bigger and better futures alongside the people we support.

We hope these stories inspire you. We have so much to achieve in our 225th year and beyond. Join us, and together we'll create more opportunities for people to live, love, thrive and belong.

Lisa Hopkins, CEO 

With our ambitious support, people break down barriers that stand in their way of achieving both the small everyday ambitions, and the big life-changing ones. People like Mikey who, through our support, has grown in confidence and reclaimed his life, living independently in his own home for the first time.

In our social care work, we grow and learn alongside people to discover the best ways to support them, so people who have never lived independently can build the lives they have always imagined, but never before fulfilled. Our new homes in Kent and Dorset and our expanded Redhill supported living homes are bringing our personalised support to more people.

“I can’t put into words what a difference they have made to his life and my peace of mind. It’s immense, and he is blossoming.” - Family member of someone we support

We work with people to build a picture of what’s important to them. Everyone wants to have control of their life, to make decisions on what they want to change and experience. 

Like Julian, who we supported to overcome his fear of crowds and fulfil a lifetime dream of seeing a Crystal Palace match in person. Or Caroline, who we supported to advocate for herself, challenge health professionals and get the cancer treatment she needed to save her life. 

These achievements, these dreams, these ambitions, are the very essences of a life well-lived. They are what we strive towards for everyone we support, so they can live, love, thrive and belong in inclusive communities. 

“If life feels difficult with a learning disability, it feels almost impossible when you have a learning disability and unidentified sight problems.” – Scott Watkin, our Head of Engagement knows better than most the difference good eye care can make. 

People with learning disabilities are 10 times more likely to have serious sight problems. For children that goes up to 28 times. 

This year, after over a decade of campaigning, our eye care team finally won a commitment from the Government to provide sight tests to every child in every special school in England. Through the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service, thousands of children who have previously missed out will now get eye care at their school. It’s no exaggeration to say sight will be saved and lives transformed. 

But it’s not just about getting it right for the next generation. Adults with learning disabilities need accessible, quality eye care once they leave school. That’s where our Eye Care Champions come in. Our champions share their lived experience and work hard to increase access to community eye care, through awareness raising and training of health and social care professionals, as well as people with learning disabilities and autism. 

Over the last year, the London team also helped to build the Easy Eye Care Service in South East London, improving eye care for around 30,000 people with learning disabilities and autism. 

All our work at SeeAbility is shaped by lived experience. Our Listen Up! team of people with lived experience of learning disabilities, autism and sight loss continually work to raise their voices louder. 

The team worked hard to ensure they could make their voices heard during the 2024 general election, building on a full 2023-24, where they directly influenced almost 1,400 people. 

Through sharing their experiences of healthcare, social care and how it impacts their daily lives, they are shaping opinion and broadening views.  Like Summer, who found her local gym wasn’t as accessible as advertised, so is now working with the manager to improve the accessibility, to make it a more welcoming place for people with disabilities. 

Our Ready, Willing and Able supported employment team also work to break down barriers to inclusion in the workplace. This work doesn’t end when someone finds a job. Instead, we work closely with people to help them prepare for work, consider their career aspirations and find a job that suits their skillset. We are available to help them settle in, supporting both employer and employee in the workplace. We also look to support people in developing their careers. 

Like Tim, who left a role where he felt unfulfilled and with our support was able to move to a new role that he loves. It’s not just about finding any job, it’s about finding the right job, helping people to build meaningful careers. 

This coming year is a big one - our 225th anniversary. 

Over the past 225 years, we’ve evolved many times. We’ve changed names and locations, patronage and expertise, drawing from this vast well of experience to continually adapt to improve the lives of people with disabilities. We have always been more than just a social care provider. We have always been a radical movement towards inclusivity. 

But there is so much more to do. We’re calling for a further shift in power, ambition and decision making – all towards people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss. 

Our Listen Up! team's work will highlight the value of social care, bringing the voices of people with lived experience to the forefront. In particular, they will be fighting for the democratic rights of people with disabilities through their accessible voting campaign. 

We know how valuable our colleagues are, so we’ll continue to work towards being an upper quartile payer, alongside our efforts to support wellbeing, equity, diversity and belonging. 

We have bold plans to grow, so we can support more people to live, love, thrive and belong in inclusive communities. We constantly strive to improve the quality of our support, building on our quality of life journey to ensure everyone has ambitious goals that we support them to achieve. 

Our Ready, Willing and Able supported employment programme will continue to put roots down in Bristol and London to support more people there. 

Our eye care team’s focus is on expanding our services that support children in special schools and adults in the community. 

In our 225th anniversary year, we continue to embody that spirit of ambition that drove our founders, as we work to forge new paths for our charity, for people we support, and for our colleagues who make it all possible.