Accessibility Statement for Education-NI.gov.uk

This website is run by the Department of Education. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:

• zoom in up to 300% without problems
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

How accessible this website is

Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:
 

• some pages and document attachments are not clearly written
• some tables do not have row or column headers
• some pages and elements have poor colour contrast
• some heading elements are not consistent
• some images and icons do not have good alternative text
• some complex images do not have sufficient descriptions
• some video content does not have a text alternative
• many documents are in PDF and MS Office formats and are not accessible

Feedback and contact information

If you need information in a different format contact us by using the feedback form and tell us:
 

• the web address (URL) of the content
• your name and email address
• the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF

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, contact us by using the feedback form and our Communications Team will investigate the issue.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’) in Northern Ireland. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Department of Education is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

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

The content that is not accessible is outlined below with details of:
 

• the accessibility problem(s)
• where it fails the success criteria, and
• when we plan to fix it

Developer/Designer issues

A number of accessibility issues are related to the underlying Drupal content management system (CMS) and will require developer and web design input.

These include but not limited to the following:

• Colour contrast interface elements (WCAG 2.1, Level AA, 1.4.11)
• Accessible names in some instances don’t match visible labels (WCAG 2.1, Level A, 2.5.3)
• Elements use colour to convey meaning which is not accessible to assistive technologies or users with low vision. (WCAG 2.1, Level AA, 1.4.3)
• There are some instances where link text and body text had poor contrast. (WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.4.1)
• Keyboard focus style is not clear and therefore inaccessible to keyboard users (WCAG 2.1, Level AA, 2.4.7)
• Keyboard focus state on interface elements require increase in colour contrast. (WCAG 2.1, Level AA, 1.4.11)
• Colour contrast on active hover state to be addressed in various states of interactive components. (WCAG 2.2, Level AA, 1.4.11)
• Text in different languages – need to clearly identify any changes in language on a page by using the lang attribute, so that screen readers read it out using the correct pronunciation and users can easily understand that the text is in a different language. Use only one language attribute within a HTML tag, such as headings or link tag. (WCAG 2.1, Level AA, 3.1.2., Level A, 1.3.1., 2.4.4 )

We are currently in the process of migrating our website to a new platform which will significantly enhance accessibility for all users. This project is due for completion by January 2025.

Documents/PDFS

A number of documents are non-accessible for a number of reasons which may result in a loss of meaning for users of screen readers or present issues for users with moderately low vision. For example, some documents:

• do not have a language attribute set This is a failure of WCAG 3.1.1 (language of page).
• have areas of insufficient colour contrast. This is a failure of WCAG 1.4.3, 1.4.11 (contrast (minimum))
• do not have colour conveying meaning This fails WCAG 1.4.1
• are tagged incorrectly WCAG 1.3.1, 2.4.2
• do not have a correct reading order. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 1.3.2 (meaningful sequence)
• do not have alternative text for images. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
• have links which are not marked up correctly. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 info and relationships and 2.4.4
• have links that have not the correct colour contrast. This fails WCAG 1.4.1
• are scanned documents with errors in elements including reading order, language, and title. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 (info and relationships).

We plan to repair this within the next 12 months, by September 2021. If you find you require one of our non-accessible documents published since September 2018 before it is repaired, please contact us using the feedback form and our Communications Team will arrange this for you.

Any new PDFs or other documents we publish will meet the required accessibility standards.

Video

A number of pages have embedded video content without text alternatives or closed captions. This may prevent users from adapting the material through any sensory modality (for example, visual, auditory or tactile) to match their needs. This fails WCAG 2.1 1.2.1 (audio-only and video-only (prerecorded)), 1.2.2 (captions), 1.2.3 (audio description or media alternative (prerecorded)) and 1.2.5 (audio description (prerecorded)). We plan to repair these pages within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Tables and Lists

A small number of pages have tables which do not have row or column headers and are non-accessible. This may result in a loss of meaning for users of screen readers.

Identify and use unordered list markup for lists where there is no logical order implied, including navigation lists and menus.

(WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.3.1)

We plan to repair these pages within the next 12 months, by September 2021.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

As a website published before 23 September 2018, we are required to comply with the web accessibility regulations from 23 September 2020.

However, some of our content is exempt from the accessibility regulations:

• pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
• heritage collections
• PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 - unless required for the use of a service, for example a form
• maps
• third party content that is not within our control, for example, embedded video players like Vimeo or YouTube, and embedded Google Maps.

If you have any problems using this website, tell us using the feedback form and our Communications Team will investigate the issue and/or provide you with the information you need in an alternative format.

PDFs and other documents

Many documents are non-accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

Any new PDFs or other documents we publish will meet the required accessibility standards.

How we tested this website

This website was and is currently being tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 level A and level AA, and these tests have been carried out externally and independently.

We used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 22nd September 2020. It was last updated on 4th September 2024.