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Accessibility statement

Accessibility statement for safeguardingpartnership.swindon.gov.uk

Swindon Borough Council is committed to making the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This accessibility statement applies to safeguardingpartnership.swindon.gov.uk.

The Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website is run by Swindon Borough Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know that some elements of the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website are not fully accessible. For example:

Perceivable

  • The page language has not been identified, potentially impacting assistive technology users (this issue relates to a part of the website template that cannot be modified)
  • Some images lack descriptive alternative text, making it difficult for screen reader users to understand the content
  • Some embedded YouTube videos do not have accurate captions
  • Certain text and background colour combinations do not meet minimum contrast requirements, affecting users with low vision
  • Some pages contain headings in an illogical order, or use heading tags only for styling
  • Text is clipped when resized or zoomed, obscuring content and making it difficult for users who rely on magnification tools to access all information

Operable

  • The website does not include a 'Skip to content' link, which makes it more difficult for keyboard and assistive technology users to navigate efficiently
  • Some interactive elements, such as buttons or menus, cannot be accessed or operated using a keyboard, which poses challenges for users who cannot use a mouse or rely on assistive devices
  • Certain buttons and controls lack proper focus indicators, preventing users from easily tracking their navigation path
  • Some headings do not accurately describe the content underneath, making navigation more difficult for users
  • Certain form fields lack proper labels, making it difficult for assistive technologies to convey their purpose
  • Certain touch targets, such as links and buttons, are too small or close together, making them difficult to activate on mobile devices

Understandable

  • Some pages contain links with non-descriptive text, such as 'Click here' or 'Read more', which can confuse users relying on screen readers
  • Some pages and downloads are not written in plain English, which may make them difficult for some users to understand

Robust

  • Some links, including an icon on each download page, are missing a text alternative, making them inaccessible to assistive technologies (this issue relates to a part of the website template that cannot be modified)
  • Many PDF files are not fully accessible to screen reader software. This also applies to Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

Other

  • We have not done extensive testing with screen reader technologies or speech recognition software

Compliance status

The Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliance(s) and/or the exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reason(s):

(a) non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Some images lack descriptive alt attributes. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
  • Some embedded YouTube videos do not have accurate captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 (Captions Prerecorded).
  • Some pages contain headings in an illogical order, or use heading tags only for styling. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  • Text is clipped when resized. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow).
  • Certain text and background colour combinations do not meet the minimum contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)).
  • Some interactive elements are not operable through keyboard navigation. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
  • The website does not include a 'Skip to content' link. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks).
  • Some links, including those with generic text like 'Click here' and 'Read more' or hidden icons on download pages, do not have a descriptive purpose or text alternatives. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose - In Context).
  • Some headings do not accurately describe the content underneath. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
  • Certain buttons and controls lack proper focus indicators. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 (Focus Visible).
  • Some touch targets, particularly links and buttons, are too small or too close together, making them difficult to interact with on mobile devices. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.5.5 (Target Size).
  • The page language has not been identified. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page).
  • Certain form inputs lack proper labels. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
  • Many PDF documents, as well as Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, are not fully accessible to screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

(b) disproportionate burden

  • At present, we have not identified any accessibility issues that would constitute a disproportionate burden to address. However, we remain committed to ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Should any potential burdens arise, we will conduct a formal assessment considering the financial costs and benefits, impact on users and available organisational resources. We will maintain transparency and regularly review any disproportionate burden claims.

(c) the content is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

  • PDF and Word documents
    • While some of our older PDF and Word documents, particularly those published before 23 September 2018, may not fully meet accessibility standards, we are exempt from fixing them if they are not essential to providing our services. However, we are committed to improving the accessibility of essential documents, prioritising those viewed most often and ensuring all new PDF and Word documents meet accessibility standards.
    • We acknowledge that some of these documents may not be fully accessible to screen reader users, which does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)
    • All new PDF and Word documents added to the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website are tested for accessibility before publication, ensuring they meet accessibility standards unless they are third-party provided and an accessible version is unavailable
  • Videos
    • Our video content may have accessibility limitations, such as missing captions on live streams and some pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020
    • Although exempt from certain requirements, we are actively exploring solutions to improve accessibility, including adding captions where possible
    • All new video content will meet accessibility standards

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We actively monitor and address accessibility issues on the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website. Pages are audited for WCAG 2.1 AA and 2.2 AA compliance using Siteimprove (a third-party automated service and quality assurance tool). We also conduct manual checks on random pages regularly. We will continue to review the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website and update this statement accordingly.

Siteimprove provides three levels of accessibility warnings (A, AA, and AAA) based on WCAG 2.2 conformance. As of 1 January 2025, safeguardingpartnership.swindon.gov.uk was marked at:

  • 92.9% for WCAG 2.2 accessibility compliance level A
  • 95.9% for WCAG 2.2 accessibility compliance level AA

While we currently focus on meeting legal accessibility standards, we recognise the importance of exceeding them. Although we are not actively addressing AAA conformance at this time, continual improvement and achieving AAA compliance remain a long-term goal.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 2 January 2025.

The statement was last reviewed on 3 January 2025.

The Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website was last tested on 1 January 2025 against WCAG 2.1 AA and 2.2 AA conformance. The test was carried out internally by the web team at Swindon Borough Council using automated tests through Siteimprove.

We selected a representative sample of pages for testing by considering analytics data on popular pages, ensuring coverage of all main sections and content templates.

We have not used an independent auditor to assess the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website for both automated and manual accessibility compliance checks.

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we're not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: safeguardingpartnership@swindon.gov.uk.

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

We'll consider your request and get back to you with an initial response within five working days.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the 'accessibility regulations').

If you're not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).