Braille Lego bricks will help Scottish school pupils

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has worked with the Lego Foundation to introduce the new tool.

In 2017, the Scottish Government’s pupil census revealed that there were 4331 school pupils with a visual impairment in Scotland. The bricks will help these children develop tactile skills and learn the Braille system.

The toolkits are made up of around 300 Lego bricks that are specially moulded so that the studs on top reflect individual letters and numbers in the Braille alphabet.

They also feature printed letters, numbers and symbols so that they can be used simultaneously by sighted peers, classmates and teachers.

Toolkits will be distributed to schools and home-schooled children across Scotland.

David Clarke, RNIB director of services, said: “Braille is an important tool and these toolkits will make a real difference to children with vision impairment, allowing them to play and interact with their sighted classmates.”

RNIB has also trained teachers and support staff working with children with vision impairment in the teaching concept.

Although the toolkit is intended as a playful introduction to Braille for younger children, it has also proven to have learning opportunities and benefits for children in secondary school.