An interim chief executive is currently being recruited

Sally Harvey has quit as chief executive of the RNIB following a Charity Commission and Ofsted probe.

The regulators launched investigations into the charity over safeguarding concerns at a children's home.

Serious concerns were raised about the running of the Pears Centre for Specialist Learning home for children and young people in Coventry, run by an associated charity.

Harvey moved to the chief executive post in October. She was active chief executive previously.

In a statement, the charity said: “The children at Pears Centre are our number one priority. We recognise the seriousness of Ofsted’s concerns and we’re truly sorry that the level of service we’ve provided has not been good enough.

“In January we put in place a Service Improvement Plan, but it’s clear that we should have acted more quickly to make changes. We are now working closely with Ofsted to improve the service and we’re doing absolutely everything we can to put things right at Pears Centre.

“Following on from this Sally Harvey has decided to step down from her position as chief executive of RNIB. We will be appointing an interim chief executive as soon as possible.”