Who are we?
VIEW is a registered charity, which represents the interests and needs of children and young people with visual impairment across the United Kingdom. VIEW is a membership association open to professionals and others with an interest in the field of visual impairment. Read the questions we get asked a lot.
VIEW is the representative group of staff working across the Education sector for VI Children and Young People so is in a good position to gauge concerns across the UK.
Our Mission
The mission of VIEW is to support professionals who provide support to children and young people with vision impairment.
Our Vision
The vision of VIEW is to be recognised as the leading UK authority in providing the necessary services to help QTVIs and other professionals support children and young people with vision impairment.
VIEW Trustees:
VIEW is comprised of professionals with particular expertise within the field of vision impairment and education provision. These individuals provide leadership in moving VIEW forward to constantly improve benefits and services to the professionals who work and support the education and welfare of children with a vision impairment.
VIEW works to safeguard standards of provision, and raise the profile of the field. Representation is made to the Government on issues regarding the education of children with a vision impairment. The association also provides funds for research and acts as a partner for relevant teacher training courses.
Katharina Walls
Vice Chair
My name is Katharina and I am a QTVI in Lancashire. My path into this profession is different from most other QTVIs, as I studied Special Needs Education in Germany. I then did my PGCE in a School for blind and visually impaired children in Halle, Germany, teaching English and German. After a break for bringing up my own 3 children I started to work for Oxfordshire County Council, where I worked for nearly 5 years before moving to Lancaster and starting work here. I love the work as a QTVI, and enjoy the challenge of having to find creative solutions and teaching resources for each individual student I support. I have been a member of VIEW for many years, enjoying hearing about new research and developments at the conference as well as being challenged to think outside my immediate work and help creating a voice for blind and visually impaired students.
Rory Cobb
Trustee and Honorary Secretary
I am a retired QTVI who worked for RNIB for 35 years, during which time I developed resources and policy advice to support educational provision for blind and partially sighted children. During my career I had a special interest in access to the curriculum and examinations, working closely with awarding bodies and government agencies to improve provision for learners with vision impairment in public exams. I have a long-standing involvement in training and led on the development and delivery of RNIB and VIEW’s online courses for education professionals working with children and young people with vision impairment. More recently I have also been closely involved in the development and implementation of the CFVI. I have been an active member of VIEW for many years, running the annual conference from 2003 until 2018 and acting as VIEW Chair from 2015 to 2021.
Sue Keil
Trustee and research lead
From 1998 until my retirement in 2017 I was employed by RNIB as children’s research officer where I carried out, and externally commissioned, a wide range of research studies and literature reviews. The aim of these studies has been to get a better understanding of: the size and characteristics of the population of blind and partially sighted children and young people in Britain, the experiences and support needs of children and their families, and policies and practices underpinning their educational provision.
Since retiring, I’ve been helping to develop the VIEW research webpages. I have continued to maintain links with the wider VI research field as VIEW representative at the twice-yearly Mary Kitzinger Trust workshops. I am also a member of the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI) project management committee.
Mike McLinden
Trustee
Mike is Emeritus Professor in Education at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom (UK) where he worked for over 25 years. He retired from the University of Birmingham at the end of 2020 and now undertakes consultancy in a range of areas including working with organisations to promote more inclusive education.
Mike has over 30 years’ experience of working in schools, colleges and Higher Education (HE) as a classroom teacher, qualified teacher of students with vision impairment (QTVI), senior academic, researcher and consultant. He has been involved in a wide range of public engagement and knowledge exchange activities beyond the academic sphere including commissioned reviews of service provision, running workshops and training events for schools, services and other academic institutions and the development of inclusive curriculum resources.
Susan Borsada
Trustee
I am a retired QTVI who has a broad experience in the field from 0 years to post-16. Previously I have been a SEND teacher, Deputy SENDCo and Literacy Co-Ordinator in mainstream Secondary. With this background I now have a particular interest in the effective teaching of literacy through braille. Currently I am a Teaching Placement Supervisor on the University of Birmingham MQTVI course and have also been involved in the Year 1 residential day. As a Teaching Placement Supervisor for the MQTVI course I have links with various Services and Specialist provisions throughout the country and I very much enjoy being involved in training the next generation of QTVIs. I have been a member of VIEW for many years but more recently have been involved as an Associate member on the VIEW committee, and have contributed to various aspects of VIEW, such as VIEW’s response to the curriculum review, and volunteering my support and help in the organisation of the VIEW Conference for the last two years.
Lina Graham
Trustee
I came to the UK as an overseas student from Pakistan to train as a Teacher for Nursery. Infant &ESN(S) children, this defined my teaching career. Scarcity of teaching jobs meant that I worked as a Nursing Assistant in a special needs care home and then as a supply teacher in a hospital ward and a special unit at Guys Hospital School. My first full time teaching job was in a class with children with PMLD in the London Borough of Southwark. At Linden Lodge School for children with a VI, I was recruited as the teacher for their first specifically special needs class. I worked in various roles at Linden Lodge; a class teacher , Peripatetic Teacher for children with VI & MSI/DB, AST and before retiring as an Assistant Head teacher for their Unit for Secondary aged Children with PMLD. As a pensioner I only do what I really enjoy! I have close links with Schools for the VI and a special needs orphanage in Pakistan. VIEW has always been a great link I have used to access information & innovative practice in the world of the VI. As a trustee I am excited and looking forward to learning and contributing to the varied areas linked with VIEW .
Sarah Raisanen
Consultant
With an MSc in Social Research from the University of Bath, I began my career as a researcher focused on improving educational provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). I then joined the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), where I held a range of roles supporting children and young people with vision impairment, as well as their families and the professionals who work with them.
Over the past 25 years, I’ve led and been involved in communications and engagement projects in the disability sector: planning, delivering, and evaluating initiatives designed to raise awareness, build understanding, and strengthen inclusion.
At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to improving access and opportunity for children and young people with SEND. Whether working directly with individuals or shaping strategy, I’m driven by a clear goal: to help more children and young people receive the support they need – and to create meaningful, lasting change.
I currently work with VIEW on a consultancy basis, and value the opportunity to contribute to projects that empower professionals to improve outcomes for learners with vision impairment. I’m also a member of the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI) project management committee.
Contact us
To contact us email: admin@viewweb.org.uk