This website is powered by Wordpress and run by Sheffield Hallam University. 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 just a keyboard

• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software

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

WordPress publishes information about the accessibility features of its interface.

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

There are hundreds of Sheffield Hallam University WordPress sites (typically blogs.shu.ac.uk sites) which are looked after by hundreds of staff members, who each have responsibility for uploading content to those sites. Some content may be uploaded to specific sites which is not fully accessible.

• Many older content files such as PDFs are not fully accessible to screen reader software.

• Images may not have alternative text describing them.

• Videos created before 23 September 2020 may not have captions.

How to contact the University about accessibility issues

Reporting an accessibility problem

If you encounter an accessibility issue with our website not listed on this page, contact us using our web accessibility report form.

Requesting alternative formats

If you need information in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, contact the content owner, where stated.

If you cannot identify the content owner, or if they cannot help, contact webaccessibility@shu.ac.uk.

The University also licenses Sensus Access, which can automatically improve the accessibility of files. We recommend staff and students use this to quickly create more accessible files.

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

Sheffield Hallam University is committed to making its website 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 version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non accessible content

WordPress tracks accessibility issues in its overall interface and reviews the status of these as they are reported and resolved.

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

All content uploaded by the staff members to specific sites may not comply with WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria yet. This could include:

• 1.1 Text Alternatives

• 1.1.1 Non-text Content

• 1.2 Time-based Media

• 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)

• 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)

• 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)

• 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)

• 1.3 Adaptable

• 1.3.1 Info and Relationships

• 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence

• 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics

• 1.3.4 Orientation

• 1.4 Distinguishable

• 1.4.1 Use of Colour

• 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)

• 1.4.5 Images of Text

• 1.4.10 Reflow

• 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast

• 1.4.12 Text Spacing

We are planning a cultural change programme to raise awareness of these issues and improve compliance among staff with the content they upload.

Wordpress sites may include third party content, links and integrations. We cannot guarantee the accessibility of all third party content. Where we license integrations with third parties we will discuss accessibility requirements with suppliers to ensure they are compliant.

Content that is outside the scope of accessibility regulations

• Documents such as PDFs and Office documents uploaded to WordPress sites prior to 22 September 2018 are currently outside of the scope of these regulations. We will endeavour to make these files accessible where possible.

• Multimedia files created before 23 September 2020 do not require captions under the regulations.

How we tested this website

WordPress regularly improves its features and creates new core themes. Their accessibility team monitors these changes and tests them for web accessibility. More than 70 volunteers with all kinds of assistive technology help with these tasks. 

The University is also currently scoping its approach to testing websites to identify accessibility issues. This site will be tested in the future in line with that agreed approach.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working with staff members to raise awareness around good accessibility practice.

We work closely with WordPress to make sure the version we use is suitable for our accessibility needs.

WordPress has a number of Accessibility Working Groups dedicated to finding and fixing accessibility issues.

This statement was prepared on 12 October 2019. It was last updated on 24 October 2019.