We recognise the importance of providing a website that is accessible by all users. As such we have made every effort to ensure that our site can be easily used by people with disabilities.
We have introduced the following features to ensure the best use of our site by all of our users:
Navigation
A hidden menu has been placed at the beginning of each page to allow screen reader users to link to the main areas of the page.
Access Keys
| Access key | Function |
|---|---|
| S | Skip to main content |
| 0 | Accessibility documentation page |
| 1 | Home Page |
| 3 | Site Map |
| 8 | Terms & Conditions |
| 9 | Contacts & Locations |
How to use Access Keys in your Browser
| Browser | What to do |
|---|---|
| Internet Explorer 5+ (PC) | Hold down the ALT key, press the number/letter of the access key, release both keys then press ENTER |
| Internet Explorer 5+ (Mac) | Hold down the CTRL key and press the number/letter of the access key |
| Netscape 6 and earlier (PC and Mac) | Access keys are not supported |
| Netscape 7 (PC) | Hold down the ALT key and press the number/letter of the access key |
| Firefox, Mozilla (PC) | Hold down the SHIFT+ALT key and press the number/letter of the access key |
| Firefox, Mozilla (Mac) | Hold down the CTRL key and press the number/letter of the access key |
| Safari and Omniweb (Mac) | Hold down the CTRL key and press the number/letter of the access key |
| Opera | Hold down the Shift key and press Escape, release both keys, then press the number of the accesskey |
Headings and navigation menus
HTML heading tags are used to convey document structure. H1 tags are used for main titles, H2 tags for subtitles etc.
Navigation menus while Javascript driven are deisgned to work without Javascript and sub menus made available through Javascript are replicated on sub-pages which makes them readily available.
Images
All images used in this site include descriptive alt tag attributes. Where an image has no use other than being decorative the alt tag is set to null to allow easy reading of the site by all users.
Colours
We have taken care to ensure that the site’s font and background colour combinations contrast significantly and are effective in ensuring information is still clear when viewed in different colour combinations.
If you wish to override the site’s colours, you can do this by changing your browser settings to your own preference.
Font size
Most of the font sizes we use on our site are sizable. You can change the font size to make it either larger or smaller via your browser settings.
You can change the font size in the following ways depending on your browser;
In Internet Explorer 7; select View, then Text Size, and then your preferred size.
In Netscape/Firefox; select View, then Text Zoom/Size, and then your preferred size.
Stylesheets
This site uses cascading style sheets for all visual layout. If your browser or browsing device does not support stylesheets at all, the use of structured semantic mark up ensures that the content of each page is still readable and clearly structured.
Tables
Most data tables have properly scoped header cells, to allow screen readers to render them intelligently. We have also ensured table summaries are used as well as captions where appropriate. Tables used for layout use none of the above attributes to ensure that they are not confused with data tables.
Forms and fields
All forms fields follow a logical tab sequence to ensure easy navigation. Form fields also have ‘label’ and ‘id’ attributes to explicitly associate the form field with its label to allow for easy entry of data.
JavaScript
The use of Java script has been kept to an absolute minimum. Where it is used then all pages and process are still accessible should Javascript be turned off.
Links
All links have been written to make sense when taken out of context. Where appropriate, we have also added link title attributes to describe the link in greater detail.
Useful links:
If you would like to know more about accessibility and the Internet, you may be interested in the following websites:
RNIB website – The Royal National Institute for the Blind
www.w3.org/WAI – W3C accessibility guidelines
www.bcab.org.uk – British Computer Association of the Blind
www.bbc.co.uk/education/betsie – BBC web pages for visually impaired users.
http://www.disability.gov.uk/dda/ – The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA)
JAWS – a screen reader for use with Windows.
Lynx – a free text-only web browser for blind users with refreshable Braille displays.
Links – a free text-only web browser for visual users with low bandwidth.