Introduction
Our aim is to ensure that this web site is as accessible as possible to a wide range of end-users, and that you can use the site easily and effectively. Send your comments and suggestions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to help us to improve the ESF-Works web site. We are constantly working to improve this site, so we are very keen to hear your feedback on accessibility and usability, especially for this first release.
Our accessibility and usability policy
Finding your way around the site
Our accessibility and usability policy
Our philosophy is that accessible learning materials are of benefit to all learners, not just those with disabilities. We do not believe that producing learning materials that are accessible need result in the materials being less engaging, interactive or visually appealing.
We use the W3C guidelines and aim for conformance against single A success criteria (WCAG 2.0) as a minimum. As standard, we aim to support, for example:
- compatibility with a range of common browsers and key assistive technologies
- keyboard, as well as mouse, access to the materials
- text alternatives for any non-text elements
- user control to allow personalisation of background and foreground colours, font size, etc.
While technical accessibility is extremely important, we believe that accessibility is intertwined with usability and pedagogy, and that resources must ultimately be ‘fit for purpose’ in every sense within the context in which they are being used. To help ensure that inclusion and usability are embedded from the outset, we take a user-centred design approach, involving end-users from initial requirements definition, through prototyping and user testing, all the way to delivery. At key stages we review our designs and prototypes against accessibility, usability, and content-suitability criteria.
We strive to keep improving our quality assurance processes and to embed established protocols for carrying out accessibility audits, usability/heuristic evaluations and end-user evaluations, alongside well-established editorial quality assurance processes.
Adjusting the visual display
A visual preferences feature will be included in the next phase of the development.
Support for multimedia
There is a variety of support for multimedia, including alternative texts for images, which can be accessed by screenreader users.
Finding your way round the site
Select a location and a section
Use the menu bar at the top of the page to select a section (Themes, Regions, Innovation, etc.). If you need to check where you are on the site, you can always look at the 'breadcrumb trail' (the line just below the menu bar which looks like this: Home > Help).
Home
Wherever you are on the site, you can return to the home page by selecting the Home button on the top menu bar. Alternatively, select the ESF-Works logo at the top left of the screen, or select Home on the 'breadcrumb trail'.
Useful links
We acknowledge the useful guidance on accessibility and usability provided by a number of key organisations, including:
