Accessibility statement for Whalsay’s Heritage of Song
Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
This accessibility statement applies to: https://www.sssa.llc.ed.ac.uk/whalsay/
This website is run by the Library and University Collections Directorate which is part of Information Services Group at 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:
- Change most colours, contrast levels and fonts
- Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software(including Dragon NaturallySpeaking)
- Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of Job Access with Speech (JAWS), NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) and VoiceOver)
- Experience no time limits when using the site
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording we could use without changing what the text means.
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:
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- Some images are missing alt text
- There are some colour contrast issues
- Website is not fully navigable by keyboard
- Some selection displays on the website lack visibility meaning user may struggle to see where they have navigated to on the site
- Some hyperlinks were shown by colour only
- Error messages were not consistent throughout the site and did not give enough instructions for user to correct their input
- The website is not fully compatible with screen readers, and some elements are not read out correctly by screen readers
- The website is not fully compatible with voice recognition software
- The Image carousel does not have an explicit pause button
- Website could not be viewed in portrait mode on some Android mobile devices
- Customisation on mobile devices is limited
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille please contact us:
- By using the IS Helpline online contact form:
- Or phoning:
- +44 (0)131 651 5151
- Or email:
British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service:
We’ll 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 us:
- By using the IS Helpline online contact form:
- Or phoning:
- +44 (0)131 651 5151
- Or email:
British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service:
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
Contact Scotland 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 from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week.
Contact Scotland 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.
Compliance Status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations
The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria:
- Not all non-text items have alternative text
- Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation may not be programmatically determined or is not available in text
- Website was not compatible with some Android devices on portrait mode
- Hyperlinks are conveyed with colour only
- There were several colour contrast issues
- On some browsers not all content can be reached by keyboard
- There is a moving carousel in the home menu that rotates through 7 images and does not have an explicit pause button. Arrow buttons that change the picture technically pauses the carousel, but this is not intuitive
- There are some links that do not have meaningful hypertext, e.g. naked URL’s
- When navigating by keyboard it can be unclear where you have tabbed to
- Errors do not suggest to users how to fix their invalid input so that it becomes valid
- The website is not fully compatible with assistive software as not all items are coded correctly
We aim to improve our websites accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below (‘What we’re doing to improve accessibility’) on how we are improving our site accessibility.
We are working towards solving these problems and expect significant improvements by May 2025. The site is fully within our control.
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
At this time we believe no content is outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to address and make improvements to the accessibility issues highlighted. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by May 2025. At this time we believe the site to be fully under our control
While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues 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 4th June 2024. It was last reviewed on 20th June 2024.
The website was last tested on May 2024. The testing was carried out by the Library and University Collections Directorate which is part of Information Services Group at the University of Edinburgh using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using Microsoft Edge alongside Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.
Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Google Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:
WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey
The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.
We ran automated testing using automated testing software AXE and then manual testing that included:
- Spell check functionality;
- Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
- Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc);
- Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
- Data validation;
- Warning of links opening in new tab or window;
- Information conveyed in the colour or sound only;
- Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
- Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS);
- Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
- Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
- Time limits;
- Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS).
- Any drag functionality and alternatives
- Consistent help function
- No need to re enter data already submitted
- Any cognitive tests