The charity was created from a legacy left in 1935 by Thomas Pocklington, who had experienced temporary blindness when young. When he recovered, he vowed that he would make housing and care service provision for adults over 16 who were blind or partially sighted, and not so fortunate as himself in regaining their sight.
Formally established as a charity in 1958, we now have eight centres, offering a range of services from locations in London, Plymouth and the West Midlands.
Our committed staff, supported by an increasing band of equally committed volunteers, deliver a range of quality services that promote independence and choice. These include residential care, extra-care sheltered housing, supported and independent housing and respite care, and community-based services including home care and support, home visiting and day services.
Research has always played an integral role in the activities of the charity. Pocklington funds a social and public health research and development programme which helps to inform the shape of current and future services. Each year we commit around £700,000 to this work to identify practical ways in which we, and others, can improve the lives of people with sight loss. Our current research themes are:
- Improving social inclusion, independence and quality of life
- Improving and developing services
- Public health issues, including prevention of blindness and promotion of eye health.
We disseminate our findings through a range of research publications including summary reports, discussion papers and good practice guides, copies of which can be downloaded or ordered from this site.
A growing area of our work is in the field of lighting and design at home, and we have produced a design guide for developing housing for people with sight loss.
At Pocklington we continually review, improve and expand our services to promote independence and choice for those with sight loss, and to meet the growing demand for our services. Our corporate plan outlines our approach, while our achievements, activities and ongoing objectives are reported in our annual impact report. Our annual report and accounts provide additional information on our work.
