Accessibility statement for LDP websites

The Language-Driven Pedagogy (LDP) is committed to accessibility. We want our websites to be accessible to everyone. If you experience any difficulties in accessing our websites, or have trouble using any aspect of our sites please contact us

We want as many people as possible to be able to use these websites. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 400% 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

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet’s My Computer My Way pages have advice on adjustments you can make to your computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone to make it easier to use.

Scope

LDP is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This accessibility statement applies to the following sites: 

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of our websites are not fully accessible:

LDP website

  • Some buttons and links are empty or have no value text which may affect keyboard and screen reader users. 
  • Some broken skip links do not work or are not keyboard accessible which may affect keyboard users. 
  • The first level heading is missing on the homepage which may affect users of assistive technologies. 
  • Some adjacent links go to the same URL affecting keyboard and screen reader users. 
  • The faint text colour on the Meet the Team page may affect some users, particularly those with low vision. 

LDP Resource Portal

  • Some ARIA labels and descriptions will not be presented in assistive software.
  • Some ARIA menus do not contain required menu items which may affect users of assistive technologies. 
  • The alternative text for an image in some instances is the same as nearby or adjacent text. 
  • Pages are missing the first level heading and sometimes the second level is skipped which may affect users of assistive technologies. 
  • The title attribute text is the same as text or alternative text throughout the website. 
  • The website uses a layout table (although focus navigation order is correct).
  • PDF documents and other Microsoft Office file formats are not fully accessible to screen reader software. 

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 15 working days.

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, you can report an accessibility issue

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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

The University provides a text relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. 

Some of our meeting rooms have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us: 

Technical information about our website’s accessibility

LDP is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

LDP website
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

LDP Resource Portal
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 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

LDP website

  • Some buttons are empty or have no value text which may affect screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) and 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A). 
  • Some links contain no text which may affect keyboard and screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A). 
  • Some broken skip links do not work or are not keyboard accessible which may affect keyboard users. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A) and 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A).
  • On the homepage, the first level heading is missing which may affect users of assistive technologies. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA). 
  • Some adjacent links go to the same URL affecting keyboard and screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A). 
  • The faint text colour on the Meet the Team page may affect some users, particularly those with low vision. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.3 (contrast minimum). 

LDP Resource Portal

  • Some ARIA labels and descriptions will not be presented in assistive software. This fails WCAG Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
  • An ARIA menu does not contain required menu items. This fails WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A). 
  • The alternative text for an image in some instances is the same as nearby or adjacent text. This relates to WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A). 
  • Pages are missing the first level heading. Sometimes the second level is skipped however the order of navigation is correct. This relates to WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA)
  • The title attribute text is the same as text or alternative text throughout the website. 
  • The website does use a layout table, however focus navigation order is correct. This relates to WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A). 

We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our websites working with experts and our third-party suppliers to address the above issues. It is not always possible to cover every eventuality and to do so in all areas of the website. If you experience any difficulty in accessing the content on our websites, please contact us, and we will do what we can to help.  

Disproportionate burden

Issues with PDFs and other documents

The LDP Resource Portal contains resources published in Adobe PDF or other office file formats (Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets) that have not been designed for accessibility. For example:

  • Images are missing a text alternative in our resources, failing WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text content.
  • The reading order is not set correctly in our resources, failing WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.3.2 Meaningful sequence and 2.4.3 Focus Order. 
  • The human language of each passage, phrase or word in the content of our resources cannot be programmatically determined, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.1 (Language of page) and success criterion 3.1.2 (Language of parts).

We’ve assessed the work required and cost of fixing the issues with document navigation and weighed up the benefits that such changes would make to our main audience (teachers). We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. If further funding is secured beyond December 2022, we will make another assessment. If you experience any difficulty in accessing the content on our websites, please contact us, and we will do what we can to help.  

Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

We use third-party software that is neither funded nor developed by nor under the control of LDP and are exempt from the Regulations under Reg 3(2)(e). We are continually seeking solutions with experts and third-party suppliers that will bring all areas of the site up to the same level of overall web accessibility. 

How we tested these websites

We tested our websites (ldpedagogy.org and resources.ldpedagogy.org) over several periods throughout 2019 and at regular intervals thereafter. We used automated testing tools, for example WAVE and Lighthouse 5.5 (Chrome). We also undertook manual testing using an accessibility checklist to manually check a representative sample of pages from across our websites and a sample of our resources held on our LDP Resource Portal.  

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

  • Our testing identified a range of issues many of which have now been fixed. 
  • All staff who edit the website have received accessibility guidance and training. 
  • We have introduced accessible LDP templates for resource creators to use when creating new resource materials. 
  • Resource creators have received training on creating accessible documents. 
  • All resource materials published after 5 December 2019 meet a minimum standard of accessibility, which does include titles/headings and appropriate use/format of tables. 

We strive to adhere to the accepted guidelines and standards for accessibility and usability. If you experience any difficulty in accessing the content on our websites, please contact us, and we will do what we can to help.  

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 23 September 2019. It was last updated on 24 April 2023.