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    Accessibility

    Date: December 2022

    This accessibility statement applies to the West Lancashire College website at https://www.westlancs.ac.uk and all pages hosting within this domain.

    Using this website

    This website is run by NCG. 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.

    • Zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen.

    • Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software.

    • Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.

    Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

    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

    This website has been built to adhere to accessibility guidelines, however, we know some parts of this website are not yet fully accessible:

    • You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text.

    • Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software.

    • Some of our web pages and online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard.

    • You cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader.

    • There’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page.

    • Some areas of the site may not meet the colour contrast ratio of 4:5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

     

    Reporting accessibility problems with this website

    We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

    • Email: enquiries@westlancs.ac.uk 

    • Phone: 01695 52300

    • Write to us: West Lancashire College, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6LH

    • Or complete the form at the bottom of this page

    Feedback and contact information

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

    • Email: enquiries@westlancs.ac.uk 

    • Phone: 01695 52300

    • Write to us: West Lancashire College, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6LH


    We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days.

    If you cannot view the map on our 'contact us' page, call or email us, or visit our Contact page for directions.

    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).

    Visiting us in person

    If you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a Communication Support Worker and can provide access to an audio induction loop if required.

    Technical information about this website’s accessibility

    NCG 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

    This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

    Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

    • Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

    • Some decorative images should not include placeholders like ‘picture’ or ‘spacer’ as this fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.2 (alt-text content). These will be addressed in a subsequent website update.

    • All field set elements are not labelled with legend elements, which fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). Forms will be updated to use legend elements correctly in a future release.

    • Some ‘a’ elements do not contain text or an img with an alt attribute and this fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (link purpose in context) Decorative ‘a’ tags with nested images will be updated to include Alternative text in a future release.

    • Some HTML form controls have no accessible name allowing screen readers to control them. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role, value). All form controls with no accessible name will be updated in a subsequent website release.

    • On some forms, the visual label does not appear in the accessible name of links and controls. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.5.3 (label in name) and will be addressed in a subsequent website release.

    • The text and background used on some images do not have enough contrast. This fails WCAG 2.1 criterion 1.4.3 (contrast). Colour changes will be made to the areas of the site where this is apparent in a future release.

    • Some pages contain empty headings, which fails WCAG 2.1 criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels). These will be removed in a future release and new pages will be tested to ensure these are not added in future.

    • Some pages feature elements featuring background colours, where the colour of the text for nested elements is not explicitly stated. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (contrast minimum). All pages which display coloured background will be updated to explicitly define the text colour of elements within in a future release.

    Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

    PDFs and other documents

    Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents.

    The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

    We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

    What we’re doing to improve accessibility

    Preparation of this accessibility statement

    We are currently working on a number of known accessibility issues highlighted in this document. These issues will be rolled in future releases of the website.

    Preparation of this accessibility statement

    This statement was prepared on 21st November 2022. It was last reviewed on 21st November 2022 and will be reviewed every three months.

    This website was last tested on 14 April 2021. The test was carried out by NCG using PowerMapper SortSite.