Overview
Accessibility statement for ASPIRENorth, https://www.aspirenorth.co.uk
This is the website accessibility statement in line with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is run by ASPIRENorth, Schools for Higher Education Programme. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use.
This is the website accessibility statement in line with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is run by ASPIRENorth, Schools for Higher Education Programme. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- zoom in (up to 300%) without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- 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)
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use.
How accessible this website is
We are confident that our website is largely very accessible; however, we know some parts are not:
- some areas may not be fully compatible with screen readers
- you may not be able to access all content by using the keyboard alone
- not all media will have a transcript, or be subtitled
- some text may not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window or use certain levels of magnification
- some older documents (PDF, PowerPoint, Word) are not fully accessible to screen reader software
Feedback and contact information
If you need information in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, Easy Read, audio recording or braille, please get in touch:
You can also write to us at:
ASPIRENorth
Room 113, University office,
King's College,
Aberdeen,
AB24 3FX
- Email janet@aspirenorth.co.uk
- Phone – 01224 274695
You can also write to us at:
ASPIRENorth
Room 113, University office,
King's College,
Aberdeen,
AB24 3FX
Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language
British Sign Language service
British Sign Language Scotland runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates from 8am to 12 midnight, 7 days a week.
British Sign Language Scotland service details
Reporting accessibility problems with 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 by emailing janet@aspirenorth.co.uk
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your feedback, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
ASPIRENorth is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
The website is only partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (WCAG) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The website is only partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (WCAG) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
The following items don’t comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria. We aim to address the majority of issues by September 2021. We prioritise this work based on volume of traffic (scale) and key user journeys. When we publish new content we’ll make sure this meets accessibility standards.
Text and page structure
Some of our written content and page structure is not accessible. Examples include:
- Links using only colour as a distinguishing factor
- Insufficient text colour contrast
- Content which is not semantically structured
It is not possible to use a keyboard to access all the content
2.1 - Keyboard accessible
Not all audio/video material has subtitles
1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded)
Not all non-text content has text alternative
1.1.1 Non Text Content
Except for captions and images of text, not all text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality.
1.4.4. Resize Text
Unless specified otherwise a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by September 2021.
Documents
Many older PowerPoint, PDF and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards, for example, they might not be structured in a way that's accessible to a screen reader.
We’re reviewing and removing or resolving these based on order of priority. All staff are made aware of accessibility legislation and offered support in the creation of accessible documents, for example via user guides. Guidance on creating accessible documents is included in MS Office training workshops and training materials supplied by the University of Aberdeen.
Please note that certain documents may be outside the scope of the accessibility regulations.
Images
Many images on our site don’t have alternative content and in most cases this is because they are purely decorative; however, some images don’t have appropriate alternative content, and others represent text as images. We’re addressing these issues through regular auditing and by providing specific guidance and training to our content editors.
Forms
Some forms are not correctly labelled and/or are not keyboard accessible. Our forms are being audited and identified issues are addressed; we have raised some of these with our third party supplier, Weebly, as noted in Appendix 2.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. Our policy is that any new documents we publish will meet accessibility standards. Any documents essential to providing our service will be fixed or replaced with an accessible HTML page.
We ensure online maps are as accessible as possible by, for example, providing addresses and geolocation information in an accessible form.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to work with the website developer to address these issues and deliver a solution or suitable workaround.
We will continue to monitor system accessibility and will carry out further accessibility testing as these issues are resolved. However, due to the complex nature of the information displayed it may not be possible to resolve all accessibility issues. If this is the case, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. We plan to have resolved the majority of accessibility issues by September 2021.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 10th February 2021.
This website is tested on an ongoing basis; manually by staff. We prioritise work on conformance of our website based on two factors: volume of traffic (scale) and key user journeys.
We’re reviewing and removing or resolving these based on order of priority. All staff are made aware of accessibility legislation and offered support in the creation of accessible documents, for example via user guides. Guidance on creating accessible documents is included in MS Office training workshops and training materials supplied by the University of Aberdeen.
Please note that certain documents may be outside the scope of the accessibility regulations.
Images
Many images on our site don’t have alternative content and in most cases this is because they are purely decorative; however, some images don’t have appropriate alternative content, and others represent text as images. We’re addressing these issues through regular auditing and by providing specific guidance and training to our content editors.
Forms
Some forms are not correctly labelled and/or are not keyboard accessible. Our forms are being audited and identified issues are addressed; we have raised some of these with our third party supplier, Weebly, as noted in Appendix 2.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. Our policy is that any new documents we publish will meet accessibility standards. Any documents essential to providing our service will be fixed or replaced with an accessible HTML page.
We ensure online maps are as accessible as possible by, for example, providing addresses and geolocation information in an accessible form.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to work with the website developer to address these issues and deliver a solution or suitable workaround.
We will continue to monitor system accessibility and will carry out further accessibility testing as these issues are resolved. However, due to the complex nature of the information displayed it may not be possible to resolve all accessibility issues. If this is the case, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. We plan to have resolved the majority of accessibility issues by September 2021.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 10th February 2021.
This website is tested on an ongoing basis; manually by staff. We prioritise work on conformance of our website based on two factors: volume of traffic (scale) and key user journeys.
