Maped Helix unveils the Oxford Vision Maths Set, a unique stationery set developed with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), especially to support the needs of children with vision impairment.
The groundbreaking new product has been thoughtfully designed alongside experts and in conjunction with the RNIB, which has also endorsed the product with its Tried and Tested Accreditation.
After receiving an email from Sam, whose daughter was struggling at school with the unsuitable maths equipment provided, Maped Helix set to work to create the perfect set to assist visually impaired children.
Charlie Howarth, head of product for Maped Helix says: “Our vision for the product was to provide visually impaired students with the same equipment as their fully sighted peers. Oxford Vision is the same as our standard maths set, but we’ve made adjustments to design and tooling to be more suitable for visually impaired students. This includes things like contrasting colours, enlarged fonts and braille height notches. We hope to expand the range of Vision products as well as raise awareness of the difficulties that these students undergo, especially in mainstream education.”
Following guidance from the experts, clever detail such as large print graduations on the ruler, set squares and protractor, as well as all the text (markings/numbers) being raised by 0.5mm to match braille specifications have been included. There are also lines of different lengths denoting 5mm and 10mm, as well as notches at every 5mm on the side of the tools to make them easier to use.
The Oxford Vision set includes a self-centring metal compass with safety point, a 9cm graphite pencil for use in compass, a PVC and phthalate free eraser, a pencil sharpener with anti-tamper screw, 15cm/6” ruler, a 45° and 60° set squares, 180° protractor and 10mm lettering stencil, all of which have been created in a high contrasting black and yellow design to make each item easier to read. The complete set comes in an embossed tin and is sold in plastic free packaging, made from recycled card with braille markings.
