When RNIB announced a major restructure was about to begin across the organisation in July 2024, I didn’t estimate the positive impact it would have on my life until STRIVE Ability was born a couple of months later. RNIB’s restructure, and the disbandment of the Technology For Life team in which I worked actually played a pivotal role in my becoming self-employed. As I have written in earlier blog posts, one of my roles within the organisation when it was TFL involved going to mainstream schools across Northern Ireland to support tactile learners. When TFL was unceremoniously brought to an end, my support to pupils and staff was also shut down, but my passion for this work inspired me to set up on my own so I could continue that support. So, STRIVE Ability was formed, and my role at RNIB changed to a three-day-a-week job share with a colleague in a small Digital Skills team. The three days - a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - allowed STRIVE Ability to fill the rest of the week where, in term time, I work on a Thursday and Friday for the Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI) Sensory Service.
As schools have just returned to begin a new academic year, I am able to look back over the last 12 months with a degree of satisfaction, not smugness, but satisfaction in the knowledge that I made the right decision to go self-employed in addition to moving teams within RNIB to supplement my income.
Thanks to the unwavering support and encouragement from my husband Martin, and the help of my good friend and technology volunteer Jaison Curtis of
I have been able to balance the demands of two jobs , my role with RNIB, and living my passion of working with the wonderful pupils and staff who are like an extension to my family.
I cannot emphasise enough how important the role is of staff who support a blind or severely visually impaired person in mainstream education, and the past year has shown me just what is required to make that journey a success. My role is not to teach, I don’t have the necessary qualifications to be a Qualified Teacher of the Visually Impaired (QTVI.) My role is to support staff and pupils in the use of Braille devices and screen readers such as JAWS and VoiceOver. This support is done through school visits, but primarily over Teams, where a QTVI and Classroom Assistant are present with the pupil. My understanding is that Northern Ireland is the only Education Authority to employ someone like me to support staff and pupils in this way. But it isn’t just a job for me, it’s a vocation, a passion that I never realised was buried deep inside of me until I started supporting this amazing workforce.
For further information on what the Sensory Service can offer, visit
Sensory Service Northern Ireland
STRIVE Ability offers other services if required. I currently put a monthly newsletter together for
This is a charity that connects partner organisations and libraries to support blind and visually impaired readers across the UK.
So if you are looking for content to be created for a newsletter, website, factsheet or any other material, please don’t hesitate to contact me,
I can also prepare and proofread Braille documents, offer sighted guide and visual awareness training, and provide support with screen readers such as JAWS and VoiceOver, together with a range of Braille devices. For a quote or to discuss your options, use my website
Finally, if you are looking for a speaker to address a conference, host a workshop or offer assistive technology advice to your audience, I would be very pleased to oblige so do get in touch.
Here’s to another year and beyond in business!