Thomas Pocklington Trust

28/10/2026

We're delighted to share that our Policy and Campaigns Manager, Bhavini Makwana, has won the Consumer Champion award at the 2026 Self-Driving Industry Awards.

The award recognises Bhavini's work at Thomas Pocklington Trust to engage with autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo and Wayve, and ensure blind and partially sighted people have a voice in shaping the future of self-driving transport.

Through our work with these companies, we've brought blind and partially sighted people into conversations about this emerging technology, giving them opportunities to experience self-driving vehicles, share their views and help shape a more accessible future for transport innovation.

It's a well-deserved recognition of Bhavini's commitment and our wider work at TPT to ensure accessibility remains at the heart of transport.

Read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/4btx6xtj



Image descriptions:

Image 1: Bhavini smiling and holding her Consumer Champion framed award certificate in front of a media wall featuring the "Self-Driving Industry Awards 2026" logo pattern.

Image 2: Bhavini, Consumer Champion award winner, standing alongside Charles, Chief Executive Officer at Thomas Pocklington Trust, in front of the media wall at the Self-Driving Industry Awards 2026.

27/10/2026

Blind and partially sighted passengers should be able to travel by bus with confidence, knowing which bus they’re on and when their stop is approaching.

Since 1 October, new requirements mean most local buses and coaches across England, Scotland and Wales must provide audible and visible journey information, including route details and upcoming stops.

But what happens when announcements are missing, too quiet or incorrect?

Read our latest article to find out what the legislation requires, what operators must do and how to report problems with audio-visual announcements.

https://www.pocklington.org.uk/news/passengers-urged-to-report-faulty-bus-announcements/



Image description: Three modern double-decker buses are lined up on a city street beneath large leafy trees, with a grand stone building in the background. Two buses are blue-and-white Stagecoach vehicles and one is a turquoise Arriva bus. The left bus shows route 20 to Tower Hill, the middle bus shows route 10B to Huyton with a staff member in a hi-vis vest at the door, and the right bus displays “Not in Service” and carries a bright yellow boxing-match advert along its side.

27/10/2026

We're at Sight Village London today and tomorrow, and we'd love to see you there!

Our Education and Employment teams from Thomas Pocklington Trust are ready to meet you, answer your questions and share more about the support, advice and opportunities available for blind and partially sighted people.

We're also running a seminar on both days exploring how AI can support blind and partially sighted students and improve access to education. It's a great opportunity to discover what's possible and pick up some useful insights.

Come and find us!

Today, Tuesday 27 October: 9:30am to 3:30pm

Tomorrow, Wednesday 28 October: 9am to 3pm

Where: ILEC Conference Centre, 47 Lillie Road, London, SW6 1UD.

Admission is free, so if you're blind or partially sighted, a parent, a professional or simply interested in finding out more, come along, visit our stand and have a chat with the team. We'd love to meet you!

See you at Sight Village!



Image description: Graham Page, TPT’s Technology Officer, and Liam O’Carroll, Interim Engagement Manager for London Sight Loss Councils, stand beside Thomas Pocklington Trust’s exhibition table at Sight Village 2025. They are in deep conversation, whilst each holds a long white mobility cane. Information leaflets are displayed on the table, with other attendees and exhibition stands visible throughout the room.

26/10/2026

We still want to hear from you.

If you're blind or partially sighted and haven't completed our survey yet, we'd really appreciate it if you could take around 10 minutes to share your experiences and tell us what matters most to you.

We've extended the survey deadline to Monday 2 November so we can gather as many responses as possible. Your feedback will help us understand the barriers you face, the changes you'd like to see and where we should focus our campaigning and influencing work.

Your views will help us decide where to direct our resources and make sure we're focusing on the issues that matter most to our community.

The survey closes on Monday 2 November. If you haven't had your say yet, please click the link below to get started.

Complete the survey: https://pocklington.tfaforms.net/5069087

Image description: TPT staff and SLC volunteers sit in an office and meeting space, watching a presentation taking place off-camera.

23/10/2026

The Perkins Brailler meets modern technology at our next Tech Friday.

On Friday 30 October, join us at Thomas Pocklington Hub from 11am to 1pm to see the Perkins Braille Bloom in action and get hands-on with the device yourself.

The Bloom connects to a Perkins Brailler and turns it into an electronic Braille keyboard for use with computers and tablets.
image of the Perkins Braille Bloom machine sat on a table.
Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided.

We can meet you at 10:30am at Russell Square Underground station on the Piccadilly line. Please let us know on the registration form if you’d like to be met there.

Benue: Pocklington Hub, 3 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR.

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/3vmnj56h

For questions, contact the Hub team on 0208 995 0880 or [email protected]



Image description: Title reads: “There’s still time to sign up for Tech Friday”. Above this the words: “Tech Friday” are outlined. Smaller text below reads: “Don’t miss our Perkins Braille Bloom session!, 30 October, 11am-1pm, TPT London Hub, Sign up now”. The TPT logo is on the top left. The top right features an image of the Perkins Braille Bloom machine sat on a table.

22/10/2026

Passionate about technology? Help other blind and partially sighted students build their tech confidence!

We’re looking for blind and partially sighted students aged 18 to 23 to join our new group of Tech Champion volunteers.

As a Tech Champion, you’ll connect with other students from across the UK, share your experiences of using technology in education and create content such as videos, audio clips and short written pieces to help other students develop their tech skills and confidence.

You’ll also have the chance to contribute to our education policy and campaigning work, develop your communication and content creation skills and help shape this new project as it grows.

This is a remote volunteering opportunity that lets you share your knowledge, learn from your peers and make a difference to other blind and partially sighted students.

Interested in becoming a Tech Champion? Find out more and apply here:https://www.pocklington.org.uk/education/tech/become-a-tech-champion/

Know someone who might be a great fit? Share this post with them!



Image description: Title reads: “Become a Tech Champion!”, Smaller text below reads: “For blind and partially sighted students aged 18–23, Volunteer with us”. A dark navy button reads “Apply now!” The Thomas Pocklington Trust logo is in the bottom left corner. On the right, a smiling young woman with long ginger hair holds a silver laptop and raises one fist in celebration.

21/10/2026

We’re delighted to see Sight Loss Councils' work featured on BBC Radio 4’s In Touch! A huge well done to Dave and the SLC volunteers for their fantastic work helping blind and partially sighted people navigate stations with greater confidence and independence.

🎧 Listen to the interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m003336f

🚉 Find out more about the station audio guides: https://bit.ly/4fAEiyB

In Touch looks at initiatives to improve public transport accessibility for blind people.

20/10/2026

“It's pretty shameful what is going on in our industry.”

That was the verdict of Business Travel Association chief executive Clive Wratten on the lack of accessibility in corporate travel, highlighting the barriers disabled people continue to face when travelling for work.

At Thomas Pocklington Trust, we worked alongside the Business Travel Association to develop its new Inclusive Business Travel Guide, bringing lived experiences of sight loss into the conversation to help ensure blind and partially sighted travellers are represented.

Read the full story to find out more about the guide and how it aims to make business travel more accessible for everyone.

👉 https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/bta-chief-brands-lack-of-accessible-business-travel-pretty-shameful

Association calls for consistent approach as it rolls out inclusive guide

19/10/2026

If you're blind or partially sighted, please complete this food labelling survey to share your feedback. 🙏

We're a national charity providing support, care and education for vision impaired and blind people of all ages in Scotland. Let's tackle vision loss together.

19/10/2026

Last week, 12 blind and partially sighted job seekers came together at the Pocklington Hub for our Working Well with Sight Loss residential course, which ran from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 October.

Over three days, participants developed essential employability skills, from using screen reader technology and searching for jobs to preparing applications and building confidence for interviews.

Jason (pictured right) and James (pictured left) shared their experiences of the course. Both admitted to feeling apprehensive at first, but those nerves soon eased as they got to know the other participants and the TPT team. They both said they would strongly recommend the course to other blind and partially sighted people looking for work.

We run residential courses throughout the year, so if you're considering applying for a future cohort, find out more on our website: https://tinyurl.com/38ky2p7h

You can also contact our Employment Team at [email protected] for more information.



Image description: James (left), in a yellow cap, sunglasses, and a bright galaxy-print T-shirt, sits across a table from Jason (right), who wears a black T-shirt; they face each other in conversation in a plain, well-lit room with a wall clock in the background.