Introduction  

SeeAbility has to produce an Annual Report each year. This shows what we achieved and how the organisation is doing financially. We have to have our accounts checked externally each year – This is called auditing. 

In the report we show how we use money we receive from local authorities, donors and the NHS to support people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss. We pay most of the money as wages to colleagues who deliver care and support. Some goes on maintaining homes where we support people, and bills for heating, lighting, supplies and food. 

It is important that we make a surplus, as this means we get in more income than our costs. This allows us to have spare money if we need it, to deal with things that can come up unexpectedly, like the cost of living crisis. 

Our Chair Jack Stacy says 

It’s been an incredible year, marking SeeAbility's 225th anniversary with celebrations, achievements and challenges. A personal highlight was taking on the 24 Peaks challenge with my fellow Trustee Michael Smith, who is registered blind. We raised over £175,000 and showed what can be achieved with the right support. 

Despite financial pressures, our colleagues remained committed to delivering on our five-year strategy. 

We welcomed Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock MP, to one of our eye care services and speaking at our House of Lords anniversary event, securing government commitment to roll out this life-changing work to more than 160,000 children. 

Our Eye Care Champions celebrated five years in post, while our Supported Employment and Listen Up! teams reached new milestones. 

We continue investing in and expanding our homes and supported living services, so more people have a place to call home, with high quality, personalised support. 

Together, we continue to support people to live, love, thrive and belong. 

Our Chief Executive Lisa Hopkins says  

This year’s Annual Report captures a special moment in SeeAbility’s history – our 225th anniversary – while showing how we continue to grow and reach more people than ever before. It was a year of progress, celebration and recognition, with colleagues receiving national awards, our eye care work honoured, and our campaigning securing a government commitment backed by £12 million in funding to roll out the special schools eye care service. 

We marked the anniversary with street parties, a ministerial visit, fundraising challenges, and a celebration at the House of Lords, hosted by Lord Blunkett. 

We proudly supported many people to vote in the General Election – some for the very first time. Our Listen Up! team influenced thousands of people, ensuring the voices of people with learning disabilities were heard. 

We also expanded our Supported Employment work, and our social care support. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life, to grow and to thrive. 

A look back at last year 

As SeeAbility entered its 225th year, we reflected on our history while focusing firmly on the future. Across all areas of our work, our commitment to excellence, community, transformation and voice shone through. 

In our eye care work, we influenced the government to legally establish and fund the national rollout of the special schools eye care service, backed by £12 million in funding. We delivered thousands of sight tests, provided glasses for children and celebrated sector awards for our team. Our Eye Care Champions marked five years in post, using their lived experience to shape better care and influence policy. Within our homes, new processes ensured people’s visual needs were fully understood, while quality of life tools supported people to set ambitious goals. One person told us, “I never used to go anywhere but now I am out and about most days.” 

In our community, colleagues remained at the heart of our progress. Fourteen people completed leadership training, and our wellbeing coaches supported hundreds of cases, with a positive impact on sickness levels. We introduced new benefits including driving lesson support, paid fertility leave and a colleague connection fund. Our Excellence Awards again celebrated dedication across the charity. Satisfaction in our annual survey rose, alongside higher retention and promotion rates, showing that investment in people makes a real difference. 

Transformation continued with growth in housing and employment. We supported people moving from hospital into their own homes and refurbished properties to create fresh, modern spaces. Our Ready, Willing and Able supported employment team reached a key milestone with statutory funding for employment coaches, supporting people to earn over £130,000 this year. Plans to expand hubs in London and Oxfordshire will open up new opportunities. 

Our 225th anniversary was marked with acts of kindness, community celebrations and a gathering at the House of Lords. Fundraising had a remarkable year, with over 18,000 donations totalling £1.36 million. Our 24 Peaks spotlight anniversary challenge raised £175,000 and reached millions through national media. We are grateful to all our supporters, partners and donors whose generosity funds vital work. Gifts in wills contributed over £460,000, ensuring a lasting legacy for years to come. 

The voices of people with lived experience remained central. Our Listen Up! team supported 68 people to vote in the general election, many for the first time, and engaged with thousands more across workshops and events. Taking Control, our self-advocacy group, welcomed a new Chair, Summer Dickens, who launched a podcast to share her ideas and experiences. 

Satisfaction levels among people we support reached new highs, with 94% saying their support was good or very good. Families and friends also reported rising confidence in our work. Colleague networks and inclusion training promoted equity, diversity and belonging, while our presence at London Pride celebrated community and identity. 

This year was about more than anniversaries – it was about building a future where people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss can live, love, thrive and belong. 

Our finances 

We earnt £36.5 million in 2024-25, which is more than last year. Most of this money came from supporting people in our homes. We also received money from donations, selling land we no longer need, and earning interest from savings. 

We spent £35.9 million running our homes, paying staff and other costs. That’s also more than last year, mostly because wages went up and we supported more people. 

We did have to take away £1.1 million as one of our buildings in Leatherhead isn’t being used anymore and is getting ready to be sold so isn’t worth as much as it was before. Even after this, we still had £0.5m or about 1% of our income left over, which we will save for our future. 

That was added to our reserves, which are a little higher than usual. These help us stay strong if things don’t work out as planned. It may sound a lot of money, but it would only pay our bills for about 2 months. 

We plan to use some of these savings to grow so we can support more people, get better systems, and pay off our loans with the bank. We have to be careful because prices are going up and some councils aren’t giving us enough money to keep up with what we need to pay our colleagues. So we are watching our spending closely and making choices to make sure we keep supporting people to live the life they choose. 

Summary  

Overall, our work is going well and our finances are in a good position. Like everyone else, we are worried about the future and rising costs. We must continue to be careful in the current year to make sure we get enough money in so we can pay for all our costs. We are proud of everything we achieved in the last year and we are well prepared for the challenges we will face in the next year.