Website accessibility 

Clear labels 

We use clear labels so visitors know where a link or button is taking them and the type and size of documents they are downloading. We have also used a clear design that takes account of people with visual impairments. 

Plain language 

We use plain English throughout the site to make the information easy to understand. 

Colour 

We don’t use colour alone to convey vital information. 

Images 

• All relevant images have alternative text descriptions explaining what the image is about. This description will be read out by screen readers and will be displayed if you hover your cursor over the image. 
• If the image is complex and cannot be described in just a few words, there will be a link below the image to another page with the full text alternative. 

External links 

• All links to other websites will open in a new browser window. 
• If you want to return to our website after following an external link, you just need to close the new browser window. 

Increasing text size 

If you need to change the size of the text on our website, you can do this by changing your internet settings in the top right-hand corner.  

Magnifying the screen 

If increasing the text size doesn’t make the text easy to see, you could try magnifying your screen. Most computer operating systems allow you to do this. 

Select one of the options below to find out how to magnify your screen. 

Windows 

Select the Start button, then ‘Control Panel’, then ‘Ease of Access’, then ‘Ease of Access Centre’. 

Under ‘Quick Access to common tools’ select ‘Optimise visual display’. 

Select the tick box next to ‘Turn on magnifier’ 

The magnifier will now be turned on and the settings box will display. 

You can click in the magnification level box to change the level of magnification or use the up and down arrow keys. 

You can also minimise the magnifier settings box by clicking the minimise button or by pressing ‘Alt’ and ‘Space’, then pressing ‘N’. 

Mac OS X 

Open the ‘Finder’ then select the ‘Apple’ menu, select ‘System Preferences…’, select the ‘Universal Access’ icon. 

Select the ‘Seeing’ tab then select the ‘Turn on Zoom’ button. 

To zoom in press ‘Alt’ and ‘Cmd’ and ‘+’. This zooms to your maximum level of magnification set in ‘Zoom Options…’. The preview rectangle (black bordered box) shows the area of the screen that you will see at maximum zoom. 

To step back or zoom out press ‘Alt’ and ‘Cmd’ and ‘–’. Move your mouse around the screen to view the magnified page. 

To change the maximum and minimum zoom settings select ‘Zoom Options…’, then: 

use the ‘Maximum Zoom’ gauge bar to increase or decrease the magnification level. 

use the ‘Minimum Zoom’ gauge bar to increase or decrease the magnification level. 

When you have finished select ‘Done’ and, finally, select ‘Close’ (red button at the top of the ‘Universal Access’ window) to return to the Finder desktop. 

To turn magnification on or off at any time, press ‘Alt’ and ‘Cmd’ and ‘*’. 

Navigating our site without a mouse 

You can use the ‘arrow’ keys to scroll up and down a page. 

You can use the space bar to move down and ‘shift’ and ‘space bar’ to move up pages. 

You can use the ‘tab’ key to move from one link to the next, in sequence, then press the ‘return/enter’ key to select the link. 

You can use the ‘backspace’ key to go back to the previous page. 

Software to read out loud 

Both Windows and Apple now offer built in Software to read your screen out loud to you. 

Windows 

Go to start – settings – ease of access – narrator 

Click the slider next to ‘Turn on narrator’ to activate it. 

Go to the web page or document you are trying to view 

Move your cursor to the area of text you want Narrator to read and press ‘Caps lock’ + ‘R’ 

To stop the Narrator from speaking simply press ‘Ctrl’. 

Apple 

To turn on VoiceOver press ‘Command-F5’ 

When VoiceOver is turned on you can use VoiceOver commands to navigate and interact with items on the screen. 

You can enter VoiceOver commands by holding down ‘Ctrl’ and ‘option’ keys together. 

Non-accessible content 

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible: 

• You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text. 
• Some older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software. 

What to do if you need information in a different format? 

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

Email [email protected] 

Call 0800 852 7460