Accessibility
Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This accessibility statement applies to: RACE.ED.
This website is run by School of Social and Political Science at The University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- using your browser settings, change colours, contrast levels and fonts while retaining most functionality;
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen;
- utilise the keyboard to navigate to all parts of the website;
- operate with mobile devices in both landscape and portrait modes;
- use the website without encountering any time limits.
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
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:
- text-to-speech assistive technologies (including Job Access with Speech (JAWS) and NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)) are not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website;
- speech-to-text assistive software (for example, Dragon NaturallySpeaking) is not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website;
- colour contrasts do not necessarily meet the recommended Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA standard;
- captions and audio description is not available for all video content
- some input fields do not alert users to errors;
- not all non-text content presented to users has alternative text;
- new links open without warning;
- moving content can not always be paused or stopped by the user;
- not all link purposes are clear to the user;
- some parts of the website are not fully compatible with mobile accessibility functionality.
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:
- email sps.support@ed.ac.uk
- telephone +44 (0)131 651 3060
- British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service: Contact Scotland BSL
We will consider your request and get back to you in 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:
- email sps.support@ed.ac.uk
- telephone +44 (0)131 651 3060
- British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service: Contact Scotland BSL
We will consider your request and get back to you in 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:
Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)
The UK 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 Contact Scotland 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.
Contact Scotland 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 presented to users has alternative text.
- Captions are not provided for all prerecorded video content
- Audio description is not available for all video content.
- Information, structure and relationships conveyed through presentation cannot always be programmatically determined. This includes missing heading tags.
- The way the content is presented affects its meaning, and a correct reading sequence is not programmatically determined.
- Some input fields that collect user personal data do not have all necessary attributes.
- There may not be sufficient colour contrast between font and background colours, especially where the text size is small.
- Text can not always be resized without use of assistive technology
- Visual information to identify user interface components, such as keyboard focus, do not always have a sufficient contrast ratio.
- Users are taken to new external links without warning
- Certain cannot be paused or stopped by the user.
- Some of the page titles do not fully describe the page content
- Focusable components are not brought to user attention in an order that necessarily preserves meaning and operability.
- The purpose of each link cannot be determined from the text alone.
- Errors are not necessarily identified or described to users when inputting information
- Labels or instructions are not provided when content requires user input
- The site is not fully compatible with screen readers and voice recognition software.
- Screen readers are not able to identify some parts of the page.
Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution, or significant improvement, will be in place for those items within our control by August 2024.
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
We are not currently claiming that there is any content outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to address the accessibility issues highlighted, working with the supplier either through delivery of a solution or suitable workaround. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place for those items within our control by August 2024.
Whilst 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.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was first prepared on 23 March 2021. It was last reviewed on 16 August 2023.
The website theme of which this is a sub-theme was first tested in March 2021, then again by Zoonou on behalf of the School of Social and Political Science in July 2023.
All manual testing involved using the Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome (96.0.4664.45) and Safari browsers. Internet Explorer is still commonly used by disabled people, due to its accessibility features and compatibility with assistive technology, as shown in a UK government survey:
UK Government Assistive Technology Browser Survey
However, a more recent world-wide usage level survey suggests the other browsers are used more widely. In particular, when using a combination of different screen readers and browsers, Chrome has increased in popularity, and is now the favoured one in overall use:
WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey 2021
We tested on a sample of pages we believed to be representative of the type of content across the site:
- Spellcheck functionality;
- Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
- Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour et. cetera);
- Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
- Data validation;
- Warning of links opening in a new tab or window;
- Information conveyed in colour or sound only;
- Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
- Operability if JavaScript is disabled;
- Use with screen reading software (JAWS; NVDA);
- Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifer, ZoomText, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
- Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
- Time limits;
- Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS).