SeeAbility was set up over 200 years ago by people who had big dreams for people with disabilities.

It’s now more than 200 years later, but we still have big dreams.

We worked with people we support, their families and people who work at SeeAbility to make a plan for the next five years.

We wanted to make sure everyone had their say to tell us what their goals and dreams are.

We’re calling for three changes:

• A change in who has power.
   

• A change so people can go for their dreams and ambitions.

• A change in who makes choices in people’s lives.

We want to lead this change so we can help make everyone feel included in the world.

Respect is our starting point.

We spark imagination.

We learn together to be our best.

We believe in each other.

Excellence

We support people to live their best life.

We’ve listened to what people want in their life.

This might be to try new things, learn new skills, have a job or make relationships.

Supporting people to live, love, thrive and belong.

We will support people to live their best lives by:

• Supporting people to live where they want to, with choice and control over how they live their lives.

• Learning more about how we can keep getting better at providing the best support.

• Supporting more people to have a job through supported employment.

• Supporting more people to learn digital and in-person skills, confidence and connection.

• Pushing for change so that more people have access to the eye care they need.

All of the things we want to do under our theme of Excellence will support people to have the best life possible.

Community

We will make a community where people love to come to live and work and are supported to do their best.

Everyone who works at SeeAbility wants to make a difference in people’s lives.

We want to make sure everyone who works at SeeAbility feels valued and happy at work.

We want everyone to feel supported in their mental and physical health.

We also want to make sure that our teams have the best people in them.

We will make a positive community at SeeAbility by:

• Celebrating people’s good work that makes a difference.

• Making sure our support teams can make changes themselves to improve people’s support.

• Increasing our pay and benefits to show people who work at SeeAbility that they are valued.

• Taking care of each other.

• Making sure more people can get training and move forward in their careers.

We will make SeeAbility into a place where people can thrive, learn from mistakes and support each other to be our best.

We will make sure all colleagues have a greater say in how SeeAbility is run.

All of the things we want to do under our theme of Community will mean we know people are their best selves at work.

Transformation

We will keep working towards a future full of opportunity for people we support and our colleagues.

We want to support more people to live ordinary lives, in their own home, doing what they enjoy with people they love to be with.

We will provide more opportunities for people to leave hospital and live the lives they want.

We also want to use more technology to work together more quickly and easily.

Technology will also mean we can make accessibility better for people we support and people who work at SeeAbility.

We will support people to have more choice and opportunities by:

• Opening new homes in new areas to support more people.

• Do our homework and find new ways of helping people achieve their goals.

• Making long term decisions about our money so we can grow more.

• Growing our fundraising and volunteering teams so we have more money and opportunities for people we support.

• Thinking about how we can make our impact on the environment smaller.

All of the things we want to do under our theme of Transformation will mean we can provide more and better support for people.

Voice

People with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss will be heard and seen as equals.

The people we support are at the heart of everything we do.

We will listen to the voices of people we support, their families and our colleagues, no matter how they communicate.

We will also make SeeAbility a place where all our colleagues feel welcome and included.

We will make sure people’s voices are heard by:

• Making sure our goals as a charity are decided by people with lived experience and our colleagues.

• Supporting people with disabilities to grow in confidence and leadership skills, to speak up for themselves and others.

• We will act on the voices of people with lived experience of disability, so they can be heard even louder.

• Championing accessibility, both within SeeAbility and by calling for change in other organisations.

• Making SeeAbility an inclusive place to work, so more people from diverse backgrounds, abilities, and identities feel supported to work for us.

• Hiring Experts by Experience, who will support us to keep improving.

It’s so important that everyone feels that they belong and their opinion matters.

All of the things we want to do under our theme of Voice will mean that people will be heard.