Accessibility
We aim to make our website accessible to the widest possible audience. We are continually working to improve its accessibility, ease-of-use and the range and quality of our content.
This website endeavours to conform to level Double-A of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities.
This site has been built using code that is compliant with W3C standards for HTML and CSS. The site displays correctly in current browsers and using standards compliant HTML/CSS code means any future browsers will also display it correctly.
Whilst we strive to adhere to the accepted guidelines and standards for accessibility and usability, it is not always possible to do so in all areas of the website. We are continually seeking out solutions that will bring all areas of the site up to the same level of overall web accessibility.
Key accessibility features
Navigating using headings
The site has been set up to use HTML headings where appropriate. The main site heading starts at level 1 and the main content starts at level 2. This provides an easy way for screen reader users to skip to the main content by pressing the shortcut key for headings. For example, JAWS screen reader users can press H or Shift + H to move to the next heading, 2 or Shift + 2 to move to the next level two heading and Insert + F6 to display a list of all headings on the page.
Navigating tables
In some places, particularly where forms are presented, we have used tables for general layout. We also use tables for displaying rows and columns of information also called data tables.
We have tried to ensure that the content is presented in a logical order. In some data tables it may be hard to understand the meaning of each item in which case you can use the table navigation keys in your screen reader to deliver the relevant headers for each item in the table. JAWS screen reader users can use the Ctrl + Alt + arrow keys to move around a table and JAWS screen reader will read out the headers for each cell. You can also press Ctrl + Alt + NumPad 5 to read the headers for the current cell.
Data tables have a summary that you can hear in your screen reader to help you understand their meaning without having to read the whole table. We’ve also ensured that you can easily find data tables using table navigation keys. JAWS screen reader users can press T or Shift + T to move between tables and have the summary read out.
Javascript
Javascript enables us to create small programs within web pages to add extra features such as pop-up windows or to check that a form has been completed in the correct way. As not all browsers support Javascript we have tried to ensure that wherever we use Javascript the same content and functions are available whether or not Javascript is enabled in your browser.
