Accessibility

To make reading our site easier try to increase the text size

In Internet Explorer
From the top menu bar choose – View Menu > Text Size. Alternatively hold Alt + V, then press X followed by Return.

In Firefox
From the top menu bar choose – View Menu > Zoom . Alternatively Hold Ctrl + PLUS SIGN(+) or Ctrl + HYPHEN(-) or Ctrl +’0’. The three options relate to increase, decrease or normal size options. It is important that the ‘Zoom Text Only’ is selected.

In Safari
Click on the ‘View’ menu with mouse – ‘Make Text Bigger’ or ‘Make Text Smaller’. Alternatively, ‘Apple’ and ‘PLUS SIGN (+)’ or ‘ HYPHEN (-)‘

In Opera
Hold Alt + V, then press Z followed by 0 (zero). Opera also allows you to press the + and – on the keyboard to increase and decrease the size respectively.

Could I listen to the site instead?

If you’d like to hear the sites content instead of reading them try the BrowseAloud facility. It’s available to download for free via the link below.
You will be able to listen to the content on this website being read aloud to you.

BrowseAloud is available for anyone to use, but is particularly useful if you have literacy difficulties, dyslexia, mild visual impairment or English as a second language.
To download BrowseAloud, or to get more information about it, simply go to the BrowseAloud website here

So that BrowseAloud can help you we’ve designed our site to ensure the software can read it successfully, including things like correct labelling on all forms and skip navigation links.

In Internet Explorer
Either click the Magnifying glass icon at the bottom right corner of the Internet Explorer window. Or select the arrow to open the list of options and select one. Alternatively, Hold Ctrl + PLUS SIGN(+) to zoom in, or CTRL + HYPHEN (-) to zoom out.

In Firefox
From the top menu bar choose – View Menu > Zoom . Alternatively Hold Ctrl + PLUS SIGN(+) or Ctrl + HYPHEN(-) orCtrl +’0’. The three options relate to increase, decrease or normal size options. It is important that the ‘Zoom Text Only’ is de-selected.

How we support universal accessibility

There are a number of ways in which we aim to support universal accessibility:
· a common design throughout
· use of cascading style sheets (CSS1) for visual layout. If your browser or browsing device does not support style sheets, the content of each page should nevertheless be readable
· use of relative font sizes, compatible with the user-specified “text-size” option in visual browsers
· all images have appropriate alternative text descriptions (“ALT text)
· if you use text-only or audio browsers you can “skip over” the main page navigation buttons (rather than having to tab through them manually at the start of every page) and jump immediately down to the main page content
· avoiding the use of frames
· links are written in such a way that you can predict where a link is likely to take you. All links open in the same browser window unless otherwise specified
· Whenever Word and PDF files are provided on a page (usually for large, complex documents) their file size is indicated, together with help and advice on how to read them. Before you can read PDF files you will need the Adobe Acrobat viewer which can be downloaded from www.adobe.com. Useful information on PDF files and their accessibility is available at: access.adobe.com
· use of valid html code (HTML 4.01 transitional) to support aural and Braille technologies.
· all of our forms are designed to follow WAI and RNIB guidelines. Each form field is labelled and you may use your tab button to move through the form.
· advice on changing your Text size.

Changing colours

Changing the site’s background colour can be particularly useful for users who rely on magnification technology, as white can produce an uncomfortable glare. It is also possible to change the colour of body text on the site. Both can be achieved by changing preferences in your browser.

Searching the website

You can search the site from the search form at the bottom of the home screen.

Further information on accessibility

1. W3 accessibility guidelines – a list of guidelines and the reasons behind each
2. W3 accessibility techniques – how to implement the guidelines
3. W3 accessibility checklist, a busy developer’s guide to accessibility
4. Web Accessibility Initiative, background information on the WAI initiative
5. RNIB web accessibility resources, details of accessible information services offered by RNIB