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Accessibility Statement for the Digimap for Schools website

Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018

This accessibility statement applies to https://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/

This website is run by the University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • Using your browser settings, change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • Zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
  • Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software

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

Customising the website

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:

AbilityNet - My Computer My Way

With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:

Additional information on how to customise our website appearance

If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:

Information on SensusAccess

How accessible this website is

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

  • Screenreaders may not be able to fully navigate the site
  • Assistive technology functionality may not work on all parts of the site
  • Accessing all content may not be possible by using the keyboard alone
  • Text appears over background images
  • Users need to scroll to access specific content
  • Not all colour contrasts meet the recommended Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA standard
  • Not all links indicate whether they open as new pop-up or browser windows

Feedback and contact information

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

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are 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, please contact:

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:

Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:

Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website

Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language

British Sign Language service

contactSCOTLAND-BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

contactSCOTLAND-BSL service details

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

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

The full guidelines are available at:

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard

Non accessible content

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

Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations

The following items do not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria:

Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution, or significant improvement, will be in place for those items within our control by September 2023.

Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.

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

Online Maps and Mapping Services

As mentioned throughout this statement, the site comprises exemplars of maps available in the full subscription service. These maps are complex in nature and therefore not fully accessible. However, maps are currently not within the scope of the regulations, as long as information needed for navigation is provided in an alternative format. An example includes any of the World and Continent Maps.

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not necessarily meet accessibility standards, for example, and they may not be easy to view using a screen reader. The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2019 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For example, we do not plan to fix old news articles relating to time-specific events, but these may still have some education value, such as the Conserve Challenge of the John Muir Award. We will also try to ensure any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards, and where we find any that are not accessible, we will rectify this as soon as possible.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We plan to continually review and, where possible, improve accessibility on this website. We will continue to address the accessibility issues highlighted, working to deliver a solution or suitable workaround.

As noted above, due to the complex nature of the information displayed and the content type, specifically mapping, it may not be possible to resolve all accessibility issues. However, while we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues, or where we are unable, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 23rd September 2019. It was last reviewed on 27th February 2023. As of February 2023, a review of accessibility is underway and work is being done to address the issues detailed above. This will be completed by September 2023.

This website was last tested by the Software Engineering team within the Information Services Edina directorate in late 2022. The tests were carried out primarily using the Google Chrome browser alongside Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer for comparative purposes, including screenreader compatibility. In particular, the site was primarily tested using Chrome since it is by far the most popular browser when using a screen reader.

Automated testing, using Google Chrome’s Axe accessibility tool and the IBM Equal Access Accessibility checker was also undertaken to supplement the findings.

We tested:

  • Spellcheck functionality
  • Scaling using different resolutions
  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour etc.)
  • Keyboard navigation
  • Data validation
  • Warning of links opening in a new tab or window
  • Information conveyed in colour or sound only
  • Flashing or scrolling text
  • Use with screen reading software (JAWS)
  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content
  • Time limits