Accessibility Statement: How to get the most out of Skills for Learning
We are committed to ensuring that this website is accessible to everyone. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the accessibility of this site, please contact us, as we are continually striving to improve the experience for all visitors.
What accessibility features have we implemented?
1. Ability to navigate straight to the main content on each page
Visually impaired readers can bypass the navigational links and menus on each page and get straight to the main content by using the 'skip navigation' link at the start of each page.
2. Page headings clearly described for easier navigation with screen readers
Page headings in the site are used to indicate the main points and sub-points on each page. Heading levels range from level 1 (most important) to level 6 (least important).
| Visitors using recent versions of screen readers can navigate using the following keystrokes: | |
| H | Move forwards through the headings |
|---|---|
| Shift + H | Move backwards through the headings |
| INSERT + F6 | See a list of all headings |
| 1 | Navigate to the next level 1 heading on the page |
| Shift + 1 | Go back to the previous level 1 heading on the page |
| 2,3,4,5,6 | Navigate to the next sub-heading on the page |
| Shift + 2,3,4,5,6 | Go back to the previous sub-heading on the page |
If you are using the Opera browser, the following keys can be used to navigate headings:
- S to move forwards through the headings
- W to move backwards through the headings
3. Descriptive text added to links and images
Where the destination or purpose of a link is not immediately clear we have added extra descriptive text to help visitors know where the link will take them.
Many images used in this site also include a short description. Where a further description is necessary to explain the significance of each image to visually impaired readers, there will be a link to a text description of the image.
Visitors using screen readers: you can amend the verbosity settings of your screen reader to suit your need.
4. Colours and text can be changed to suit your preferences
This site has been designed so that you can change the text size, style, colour and background colour settings in visual browsers. The following list provides links to information on how to change these settings in various commonly used web browsers:
- Internet Explorer 6: Adjusting Text Size and Style, Formatting, and Colors in Internet Explorer 6
- Internet Explorer 7: Internet Explorer 7 Accessibility Tutorials
- Internet Explorer 8: Internet Explorer 8 Accessibility Tutorials
- Mozilla Firefox: Accessibility features of Firefox
- Opera: Special settings for disabled users in Opera
Accessibility Barriers
The content on the Skills for Learning site has been created over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, some of the older images and flash animations on the site do not have accessible versions. This is something we are gradually trying to change. In the meantime, if you do encounter any problems with any part of the site, please, let us know.
Accessibility Software
The disability resource areas in the library contain adaptive software and hardware which will assist users with disabilities. For more information visit the information for disabled and dyslexic users section of The Library website.
Below is a list of links to sites providing accessibility software:
- JAWS, a screen reader for Windows. A time-limited, downloadable demo is available
- Home Page Reader, a screen reader for Windows. A downloadable demo is available.
- Lynx, a free text-only web browser for blind users with refreshable Braille displays.
- Links, a free text-only web browser for visual users with low bandwidth.
- Opera, a visual browser with many accessibility-related features, including text zooming, user stylesheets, image toggle. A free downloadable version is available. Compatible with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and several other operating systems.
- BrowseAloud, free text to speech software - this is also on all Library pcs
- TextHelp Read & Write (Gold) - this is also on all Library pcs
