Author: Simon Hayhoe
Fuller name: Arts, culture and blindness: A study of blind students in the visual arts
Title: Arts, culture and blindness
Born: July 1968
Bio: Simon Hayhoe has a PhD and MEd by research in the study of blindness and the arts— his PhD was co-supervised by John Hull, author of Touching the Rock; Simon is pictured with John in the photograph above. He has been a qualified mainstream school teacher for over ten years, and during his career he has taught design, information technology and computing. In addition Simon has key-worked students with special educational needs, devised inclusive courses for school students — including the 4 Senses project in 2005 - organised conferences and seminars, and lectured and published essays and books on this topic. In intervening years, he has also researched educational attainment with the universities of London and Toronto.

Simon is currently Head of ICT at Leicester Grammar School. He is also involved with social and philosophical research and consultation in the field of arts and blindness for Art Beyond Sight (New York) and Blind Art (London) in a voluntary capacity, and writes on this subject as a visiting school teacher at Pembroke College, Cambridge University.

Before becoming a teacher, Simon worked as a farm labourer, fitters’ mate, freelance designer and press agent/assistant editor.