Accessibility statement
Accessibility Statement for the SKAPE website
Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
This accessibility statement applies to https://www.skape.ed.ac.uk
This website is run by the Communications and Engagement team in the School of Social and Political Science on behalf of The University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- zoom in up to 200% 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
- experience no time limit upon use
Customising the website
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:
AbilityNet – My Computer My Way
With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:
Additional information on how to customise our website appearance
If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- It may be difficult to use this site with screen readers
- Access to all content may not be possible by using the keyboard alone, with the point of navigation not immediately clear
- Some non-text content does not have text alternatives
- Some link text is not descriptive i.e. Read more
- Not all colour contrasts meet the recommended Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille, please contact the SPS Communications and Engagement Team:
- email sps.comms@ed.ac.uk
- telephone (to be updated post Covid-19)
- British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via contactSCOTLAND-BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We will consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are 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 contact the SPS Communications and Engagement Team:
- email sps.comms@ed.ac.uk
- telephone (to be updated post Covid-19)
- British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via contactSCOTLAND-BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We will consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days.
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 complaint please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:
Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)
The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:
Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website
Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language
British Sign Language service
contactSCOTLAND-BSL 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 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
contactSCOTLAND-BSL service details
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations
The following items do not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria:
Not all non-text content has a text alternative (see “What we’re doing” below)
1.1.1: Non-text Content
The order of heading tags is not ordered correctly on the Home page. Heading levels are occasionally skipped – relating to events listing. (see “What we’re doing” below)
1.3.1: Info and Relationships
There is not sufficient colour contrast between font and background colours. This occurs on site-wide buttons with white text on grey background.(see “What we’re doing” below)
1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum)
It is not possible to access all the content using a keyboard only.
2.1.1: Keyboard
Empty link, contains no text. Anchor element found with a valid href attribute, but no link content has been supplied. (see “What we’re doing” below)
2.4.4: Link Purpose (In Context)
The link text should provide the purpose of a link. The standard blog post template is displaying Read More on all posts. (see “What we’re doing” below)
2.4.9: Link Purpose (Link Only)
Disproportionate burden
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
At the time of writing, we are not aware of any content that is not out with the scope of the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to address the accessibility issues highlighted. Where issues are within our direct control, we will work to provide a significant improvement by September 2021 and aim to resolve all issues by December 2021. We will prioritise the issues we have identified with the use of keyboard navigation and with the use of Screen Readers with the aim of resolving these as quickly as possible.
While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues, or where we are unable, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.
Ongoing improvements (March 2021):
1.1.1 Non-text Content
Not all non-text content presented to users had alternative text. Decorative images do not require alt text but we are adding in brief descriptions to ensure screen reader users get as complete an experience as possible.
1.3.1: Info and Relationships
There is an issue with the heading structure within the Events plugin, this will be investigated and updated on the Home page.
1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum)
There is a contrast issue with site buttons – white text on grey background. Styles will get updated site-wide to ensure contrast meets guidelines.
2.4.4: Link Purpose (In Context)
Rename or remove empty links.
2.4.9: Link Purpose (Link Only)
Re-design standard post template to remove Read more links and provide full description.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 22 March 2021. It was last reviewed on 22 March 2021.
This website was developed with accessibility principles in mind. It was tested by the SPS Communications and Engagement Team in March 2021, primarily using Firefox and Chrome browsers. We carried out manual testing alongside automated testing using WAVE WebAim and the Little Forest web governance service.
We tested:
- Spellcheck functionality
- Scaling using different resolutions
- Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour et. cetera)
- Keyboard navigation
- Warning of links opening in a new tab or window
- Information conveyed in colour or sound only
- Flashing or scrolling text
- Use with assistive software e.g Read&Write
- Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content