A WIRRAL children's author has joined forces with a school to encourage visually-impaired children to research and write about famous Liverpool statues as part of a new employability project.
Natalie Reeves Billing will be working with pupils from St Vincent's School for the Blind in Liverpool asking them to research famous statues across Merseyside and write about them as part of the Birds Eye View project.
It is part of #LiverpoolWrites which is aimed at supporting visually-impaired children and young people into employment by 2030.
Natalie said: "Within this project, children will learn to research their own local history through the statues they discover.
"They can make up their own minds. They can create a work of fiction or non-fiction, or it can be a piece of art - the main thing is to inspire the children with a topic they can really get invested and anchored in, and then watch their imaginations fly."
Working alongside Natalie is comic book artist and teaching assistant at St. Vincent's, Eevee Fox, who will be joining Natalie in helping to empower pupils to express their creativity and build their confidence as leaders.
Dr John Patterson, principal of St. Vincent's School, said: "At present, the vast majority of visually impaired people struggle to gain employment, something which hasn't changed for a decade, and this is an imbalance that were particularly keen to address."
Eevee Fox and Dr. John Patterson
As part of the project, pupils will raise funds to support Sightbox UK, an initative by the Rotary Club of St. Vincent’s, providing technology and sports equipment for children around the globe, alongside design ideas from St Vincent’s pupils.
Dr Patterson said: "I am delighted to be joining forces with Natalie Reeves Billing and Eevee Fox for a project which will ideally boost employment prospects for visually impaired people, spread a message of peace, and will empower children to tap into their innate creativity."
Natalie added: "We need a level playing field for everyone.
"Education needs to be accessible and high quality for all, regardless of socioeconomics.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how the children interpret the world around them, and what a beautiful body of work for the city it will be when we compile these entries."
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