Accessibility
Web Standards and Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Web Standards
We have ensured, as far as possible, that this site is built
using compliant XHTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) as defined in
the standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The site
displays correctly with current browsers, and using standards
compliant code means that any future browsers will also display
this website correctly.
The W3C is the organisation that produces the standards and
specifications for the World Wide Web.
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), is part of the W3C, and
is devoted to promoting accessibility on the web. The WAI has a
series of guidelines and checkpoints which aim to make websites
more accessible.
We have endeavoured to make this site comply as fully as
possible with the WAI's Priority 1 checkpoints. In addition, we
also comply with many of the Priority 2 and 3 checkpoints as
well.
Please visit Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI) for more information.
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Accessibility features
We have introduced the following features to ensure the best use
of our site by all of our users:
Changing text size
We realise some users may want to alter the size of the text on
this site and as such we have avoided the use of 'fixed sized'
fonts. To change the text size go to the 'View' menu at the top of
your browser. Depending on your browser there will be an option in
this menu called 'Text Size' or 'Text Zoom'. Use the options in
here to increase/decrease text size.
Changing page magnification
As an alternative to changing only the font size on a site, some
modern browsers now permit the user to increase/decrease the level
of magnification of the site instead of the text only. This option
will often have replaced the previously mentioned 'Text Size' or
'Text Zoom' in older browsers. For information on these options
please visit the vendor's website as detailed in our other
accessibility options section below.
Navigation
For screen reader users we have incorporated hidden menu links
at the beginning of each page. This enables users to go directly to
the key content areas of each page without the need to listen to
other page features first.
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 are marked up as HTML lists. This ensures that the number of
links in the list is read out at the start and it can be skipped
easily.
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.
Sitemap
In the event that you can't find the information you are looking
for, you could try using our sitemap. Here you will find a complete list of
all the principle areas of this site to help you navigate
around.
Forms and fields
All forms fields follow a logical tab sequence to ensure easy
navigation.
Most 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 JavaScript 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.
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Other accessibility options
Further accessibility options - such as the disabling of
stylesheets, colours and images - are available within the
preferences and settings of your browser and operating system. For
information on these please visit the vendor's website. The
following links will open in a new window.
Browsers
Operating Systems
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Further reading
The following websites provide more information relating to
accessibility. The following links will open in a new window.
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