Web accessibility statement

How accessible our website is, how to report issues and what to do if you can’t access parts of it.

This website is run by Oxfordshire County Council. 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 per cent 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)

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.

We have designed this website with features that make it easier to use by everyone, including those with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, or neurological disabilities. We aim to reach level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These are the international standard for accessible websites and content.

How accessible is this website

We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible, for example:

  • many older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some videos don’t have captions
  • some images don't have descriptions of what the image shows
  • colour contrast makes it hard to read the text in some parts of the website
  • some pages show a Google map that screen reader users and keyboard users can find difficult to use
  • information about external links that open in a new window is not communicated to touch screen readers and may cause an unexpected change in context.
  • embedded YouTube and Vimeo video iframes do not always contain a title and this content may be difficult to perceive for screen reader users.
  • some pages and documents are not written in plain English.

Reporting problems

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility and usability of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the Digital Content Team.

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

We are 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 accessible content

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

  1. HTML is used to format content. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  2. Some element IDs are not unique. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criteria 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 4.1.1 (use of colour). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  3. "Aria-described by" has an incorrect (ID) reference. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criteria 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 3.3.2 (labels or instructions). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  4. Some local link destinations do not exist. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  5. Some labels are not connected to a form control. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  6. Some input fields have no description. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships), 3.3.2 (labels or instructions) and 4.1.2 (name, role, value). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  7. Some form elements are not grouped. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships), 3.3.2 (labels or instructions). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  8. Some link text is used for multiple different destinations. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criteria 2.4.4 (link purpose) and level A success criteria AA 2.4.9 (link purpose). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  9. Some elements are not highlighted on focus. This fails WCAG 2.1 level AA success criterion 2.4.7 (focus visible). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023
  10. Some headings are not nested properly. This fails WCAG 2.1 level AAA success criterion 2.4.10 (section headings). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023
  11. On our services site, the Date Picker field (pop-up calendar) cannot be used solely via keyboard controls. This fails WCAG 2.1 level A success criterion 2.1.1 (keyboard). We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023.
  12. WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast. Poor colour contrast makes it difficult for someone with sight loss to see the content properly. If there is a big difference between the background and foreground colours it should be much easier to see the difference between them. We'll try to fix this issue by August 2023,

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services, but may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 4.1.2 (name, role value).

We will continue to improve the accessibility of documents, prioritising those that are viewed most often.

Disproportionate burden

We don't believe that the cost required to fix these issues are a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will review this decision as issues arise.

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

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).

The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For example, we don’t plan to fix old PDF newsletters, posters or campaign materials that might still be published and accessed through our website. 

Any new PDFs or other documents we publish should meet accessibility standards.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested in October 2023 by our Digital Content Team.

Oxfordshire County Council continuously monitors the website using SiteImprove and manual checks and browser extensions. The last full in-house test was in October 2023. The test was carried out manually by our Digital Content Team.

We are testing:

  • our schools website - schools.oxfordshire.gov.uk

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We're doing our best to try to fix the issues outlined above. We continually monitor the accessibility compliance of our site and have weekly automated updates. Improving our site is part of the Digital Teams' daily work.

Feedback and contact

If there are specific contact details for a page or section, a 'contact us' link will appear on that page. Alternatively, see our main contact us page.

This statement was prepared on 23 October 2023. It was last reviewed on 23 October 2023.