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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

  • 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, including heading levels being skipped, and every page uses the same site-wide title as its top-level heading rather than a page-specific one (this issue relates to a part of the website template that cannot be modified)
  • 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

  • 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
  • Some pages contain links with non-descriptive text, such as 'Click here' or 'Read more', which can confuse users relying on screen readers
  • Certain form fields lack proper labels, making it difficult for assistive technologies to convey their purpose

Understandable

  • Some pages and downloads are not written in plain English, which may make them difficult for some users to understand

Robust

  • 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 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), level A.
  • Some embedded YouTube videos do not have accurate captions. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.2.2 (Captions (Prerecorded)), level A.
  • Some pages contain headings in an illogical order, including heading levels being skipped, and every page uses the same site-wide title as its top-level heading rather than a page-specific one. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), level A.
  • Text is clipped when resized. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow), level AA.
  • Certain text and background colour combinations do not meet the minimum contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)), level AA.
  • Some interactive elements are not operable through keyboard navigation. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard), level A.
  • Some links use generic text, such as 'Click here' or 'Read more', which does not describe their destination out of context. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)), level A.
  • Some headings do not accurately describe the content underneath. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels), level AA.
  • Certain buttons and controls lack proper focus indicators. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.7 (Focus Visible), level AA.
  • Certain form inputs lack proper labels. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions), level A.
  • Many PDF documents, as well as Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, are not fully accessible to screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value), level A.

(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
    • Some of our older PDF and Word documents, particularly those published before 23 September 2018, may not fully meet accessibility standards. We are not required to fix these unless they are essential to using our services, but 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.
    • All new PDF and Word documents added to the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website are tested for accessibility before publication, 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, both of which are exempt from the regulations
    • 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 2.2 AA compliance using Siteimprove (a third-party automated service and quality assurance tool). We also carry out manual checks, including inspecting page markup and testing keyboard focus behaviour on a sample of pages. We will continue to review the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website and update this statement accordingly.

Since our last published review, we have fixed two issues previously listed on this page: the website now has a working 'Skip to content' link that becomes visible on keyboard focus, and the accessible names on file-type icon links on our download pages have been corrected.

Siteimprove provides three levels of accessibility warnings (A, AA, and AAA) based on WCAG 2.2 conformance. As of 23 July 2026, safeguardingpartnership.swindon.gov.uk was marked at:

  • 98.3% for WCAG 2.2 accessibility compliance level A
  • 83.9% 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 23 July 2026.

The Swindon Safeguarding Partnership website was last tested on 23 July 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. The test was carried out internally by the Web Team at Swindon Borough Council, using automated tests through Siteimprove alongside manual checks on a sample of pages, including the homepage, a content page and a downloads page.

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 are 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 will 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).