This accessibility statement applies to education conference.arts.ac.uk. Other websites and browser based systems on the arts.ac.uk domain have their own accessibility statements.

This website is run by [name of organisation]. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings

zoom in up to 500% 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.

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

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

How accessible this website is

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

• you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
• most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the conference team at teachingexchange@arts.ac.uk

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, email teachingexchange@arts.ac.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in a few 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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

University of the Arts London 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

• Linked images don’t have appropriate alt text while some decorative images have descriptive alt text. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A).
• Some text is styled to look like headings but has not been coded as appropriately. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
• Some form fields on the site have not been labelled in an accessible way. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
• The meaningful sequence of custom drop down menus  is not logical. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A).
• Some link text is not styled. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.1 Use of Colour (Level A).
• Some colour combinations do not have a sufficient colour contrast ratio. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA).
• Some content is cropped and it cannot be scrolled to at 320 pixel width. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow (Level A).
• In some cases the keyboard focus outline is not visible or is cropped in places meaning not all four sides are visible. This fails WCAG success criteria 2.4.7 Headings and Labels (Level AA).
• The site has some code structure/parsing errors. Additionally, non-unique ID values are also present in the code. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.1 Parsing (Level A).
• Some caption controls have no accessible name. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

Content that’s not within scope of the accessibility regulations

• Time-based media published before 23 September 2020 may not be fully accessible. This includes our video content published on platforms such YouTube or Vimeo and audio content published on platforms such as SoundCloud that are embedded on the website.
• Documents that were published on the website before 23 September 2018 that are not needed for active administrative processes relating to tasks performed by UAL.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Accessible components

We have implemented a new design system on the website and have released a number of new components for our editors to use. Components are the building blocks of our website, including buttons, cards and banners, which can be combined in various ways to create our webpages. These components were designed and built with accessibility in mind and every component has gone through or will go through further accessibility testing.

In some areas of the site, old components are still in use and these may not be accessible. We are in the process of updating all pages on the site so that they use our new components.

Documents

We recognise we have a lot more to do to ensure that all the documents on the website are accessible.

We have audited the website for PDFs and are working with our content editors to help them to fix the accessibility of our documents.

Course specification documents are available as PDF downloads. These documents are generated by a system called Akari Software and are partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA. The company that has developed this software is also called Akari Software and they are working towards improving their software so that the PDFs it generates are compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA.

Please contact us if you have difficulty with any of the documents on the site and we will work to provide you with the content in an alternative, more accessible format.

Video content

We are adding audio description (AD) to the embedded videos (that UAL has produced) on our website. We have chosen a solution that provides AD by adding a player on top of videos that we embed from platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo.

Content reviews

We regularly review the content on our website and work with our content editors to ensure that the content is meeting user needs and follows best practice.

Training

Our website editors go through compulsory basic training which includes basic digital content and accessibility best practice. Our developers have also had technical accessibility training.

We are developing further accessibility training for UAL staff which includes accessible content and accessible documents training. There is also an accessibility information hub on our intranet that staff can refer to.

Prioritisation of issues

We are prioritising the accessibility issues above and we’re aiming to fix the high priority issues first that have the biggest impact on our users.

Our commitment and legal obligations

We commit to ensuring the communications we produce are clear and accessible to the widest range of people.

We recognise our obligations under The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and the Equality Act 2010.

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

For information about contacting us by phone or to arrange a visit to our offices please visit the Contact us page.

More information about accessing our buildings is available from AccessAble.