Accessibility

Accessible features on this website

We have put accessibility features in place that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts using your browser or other tools
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate to content using ‘skip links’
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard, including contact forms
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
  • use video transcripts to understand video content.

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand and has a reading age of 13 and a half years old.

The AbilityNet website has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How we test this website

This website was last tested on 26 April 2022.

This website is tested each month by the Silktide accessibility testing platform. This makes automated checks of this website’s content against the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards using automated testing techniques.

We also regularly perform manual checks using the WAVE accessibility toolbar.

Compliance status

The latest Silktide report found this website to have achieved:

  • Level A – 100% compliance
  • Level AA – 100% compliance
  • Level AAA – 99.1% compliance

Disproportionate burden

Part of our main menu can be difficult to navigate using a keyboard. For example when tabbing through the slide out menu the users focus is unexpectedly still anchored in the main flow of the site behind the opened menu. The unexpected change of context may confuse or disorient users.

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation.

We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment in Q4 of 2022 in line with budgets.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We have in place series of procedures in place to ensure this website remains accessible. These include:

  • Ongoing training programmes for designers, developers, website contributors and moderators on how to deliver accessible web pages from the ground-up.
  • A dedicated website administrator tasked to identify and address accessibility issues in response to user feedback and Silktide reports.

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please let us know so we can work to fix it:

We’ll aim to get back to you within three days.

Alternative formats

You can also contact us to request information on this website in different languages or a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

  • 01482 393939 Monday to Friday, 9am until 4pm

Last updated

This statement was updated on 26 April, 2022.