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Website Accessibility Guidance
“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”
(Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web)
(Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web)
What is website accessibility?
Put
as simply as possible, website accessibility is all about removing
barriers that make it more difficult for disabled users to access
websites than non-disabled users.
It
is closely allied to, but distinctly separate from, usability.
Usability focuses on how intuitive and easy it is for all people to
use. Usable designs are consistent and simple to learn to use.
Usability and accessibility often go hand-in-hand.
Since
1995 there has been a legal requirement for websites to be made
accessible to the disabled and this has been tested in courts around
the world.
Although
the DfES produce guidance on producing school websites in terms of the
Data Protection Act, pupil safety, copyright and other issues (http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/schools/index.php3?S=4),
there is very little available in the way of guidance on complying with
legislation regarding the Disability Discrimination Act specifically
aimed at schools.
These
pages will not tell you what to do to make your website accessible
– it is far too limited in space and many of the techniques used
require specialised knowledge of web development. It is intended to
raise awareness of governing bodies’ responsibilities in terms of
provision of information via school websites. Also included are links
to useful resources.
A downloadable version of this guidance is available below.
Legislation
School websites are covered by the following legislation:
- The Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Part III Access to Goods and Services
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA)
- The Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Part IV Education
Although,
in terms of educational establishments, most focus on website
accessibility has been given to Further and Higher Education, the
following extract from SENDA makes it clear that schools are under the
same obligations:
“to
make reasonable adjustments to ensure that people who are disabled are
not put at a substantial disadvantage compared to people who are not
disabled in accessing … Children
Service Authority-secured education."
Standards
The
World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
has produced a set of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG),
which have become a de facto standard. These are split into 3 levels:
- Priority 1 (which must be satisfied otherwise some disabled userswillfind it impossible to access content)
- Priority 2 (which should be satisfied otherwise some disabled userswillfind it difficult to access content)
- Priority 3 (which may be satisfied otherwise some disabled userswillfind it somewhat difficult to access content)
Although
no mention is made in any of the legislation of the level to which a
site must be accessible an EC Resolution growing out of the European
Commission’s E-Europe 2002 initiative urges member states to adopt and
implement WAI guidelines at all levels of government in all regions. UK
government policy is that conformance with these guidelines is to
priority 2.
Taking
a pragmatic view, so long as a governing body has taken ‘reasonable
adjustments’ to make their school site accessible there is little
likelihood of successful litigation. Thus, even if a site is not fully
priority 2 compliant, so long as it can be shown that steps have been
taken to make the site accessible there is little chance of
prosecution. However, in the spirit of e-government and reducing the
digital divide it would be advisable for schools to make every effort
possible to meet central government policy. It should be noted that the
“reasonable adjustments” provision in the DDA will become retrospective
in 2005.
Benefits of accessibility
Apart
from the obvious legislative requirement there are other reasons for
ensuring that your school site is accessible by as many people as
possible. It is estimated that there are an estimated 8.59 million
disabled people in the UK; that’s approximately 14% of the population,
or 1 in 7.
As
acceptance of electronic delivery becomes more widespread it is likely
that the Internet will become the first port of call for information
for more and more people. This is through choice. For many people the
Internet is their primary means of obtaining information needed for
everyday living. Disability can mean isolation from the outside world
and the World Wide Web has become a potentially very convenient way of
accessing information and communicating with the rest of the world… as
long as the websites they want to visit are accessible to them.
The
principles by which websites can be made accessible do not just help
the severely disabled. Conditions such as colour blindness, dyslexia
and low vision can all mean that poorly developed sites are extremely
hard to use.
As
the current generation of Internet users grow older the normal effects
of aging on vision and fine motor-coordination may mean that websites
that were once easy to use can become increasingly less so.
Websites
that rely on the latest technology are often not usable by those who
cannot afford the latest computer. These groups tend to be the most
socially and economically disadvantaged. With a little care in the
development of your site it should be possible to see the information
on any computer.
As an integral part of the community schools have a duty not to widen the digital-divide and to be as inclusive as possible.
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