Accessibility

Accessibility statement for East Durham College

https://edc.ac.uk/

This website is run by East Durham College.

We are aware that disabled people may have difficulty using some aspects of our website, we are very sorry for this and wish to do everything we can to help you whilst we are working to resolve them.

If you find that you are unable to access any information on this website, please get in touch using any of the following methods:

Call our Priority Helpline on 0191 518 8222

Follow this link to send us an Email: enquires@eastdurham.ac.uk

Use our accessible online chat details.

You can also use the Contact Us online form at the bottom of this page.

We aim to return all priority enquiries within 30 minutes during normal working hours.

How accessible this website is

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

  • The Skip to Site Map does not stay on the screen when focussed.
  • The Google Virtual Tour cannot be used with assistive technology.
  • The Pathways Career Explorer widgets featured on the Subject pages and Courses pages cannot be used with assistive technology.
  • Some Aria Labels are incorrectly labelled.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact us using the following information:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 1 working day.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. Please see further details below.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. We have a small number of staff who are BSL qualified, however, any such appointments would have to fit within their working patterns and may require at least 10 days' notice.

Please contact us using the following information:

I am hearing-impaired and/or speech-impaired – how do I make a text relay call?

To make a text relay call, you need to dial 18001 followed by the telephone number of the person you are calling.

You can access text relay using a range of equipment including textphones, PCs, laptops and smartphones.

To use text relay on a device such as a smartphone or computer you also need to download the free ‘Next GenerationText’ app from https://www.relayuk.bt.com or from a marketplace such as Google Play or the App Store. You can make a text relay call in a number of different ways and using a number of different devices. For example, you can use:

  • a standard landline or mobile telephone for the voice part of the call, and an internet-connected device (such as a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet) to view the text;
  • a single device such as a smartphone. This will only work if you also have access to Wi-Fi, or if your device is able to handle a phone call and a 3G or 4G internet connection simultaneously.
  • For more information about which handsets can do this go to https://www.relayuk.bt.com. If you have a textphone, you can continue to use it, but you will not benefit from the enhanced features of next-generation text relay, such as the ability to hear the other person’s voice and see the text at the same time.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

East Durham College is 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 (WCAG) version 2.2 A standard, AA standard and AAA standard. 

Non-accessible Content

A detailed audit of this website has been carried out and each page has been tested for the following areas. Each of these either directly or indirectly affects the accessibility of the website. 

  • Website Accessibility Errors Priority A
  • Website Accessibility Errors Priority AA
  • Website Accessibility Errors Priority AAA
  • Website Accessibility Errors for Screen Readers
  • Website Coding Errors that affect Search Engines
  • Website Coding Errors (W3C Standards)
  • Usability and Navigation Issues

In addition, a thorough manual evaluation of different aspects of this website has been undertaken.

If you would like a copy of the full accessibility report, please contact us using the details above.

The content listed below is non-accessible on one or more website pages for the following reasons:

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations (WCAG 2.2)

Priority A

Headings should not be empty.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 A 1.3.1 Section 508 (2017) A 1.3.1)

Clickable controls should be keyboard accessible.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F15 Section 508 (2017) A F15)

Use semantic markup like strong instead of using the CSS font-weight property.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F2 Section 508 (2017) A F2)

Clickable controls should have an ARIA role.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 A F54 Section 508 (2017) A F54)

All these issues we aimed to have resolved by 31/08/2024.

Priority AA

User interface controls must have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 against adjacent colours.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA 1.4.11)

Ensure that text and background colours have enough contrast.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA 1.4.3 Section 508 (2017) AA 1.4.3)

The CSS outline or border style on this element makes it difficult or impossible to see the link focus outline.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 AA F78 Section 508 (2017) AA F78)

All these issues we aimed to have resolved by 31/08/2024.

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable.

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

General Website Content

AAA Standard

Some pages have the following issues that fail the 'AAA' standard of the WCAG Guidelines. This is not currently a requirement but we include it as it would be good practice to eliminate these in the future:

Audio description is provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 1.2.5)

Sign language interpretation is provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 1.2.6)

Ensure that text and background colours have a 7:1 contrast ratio.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 1.4.6)

Several links on a page share the same link text, but go to different destinations.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 2.4.9)

Clickable targets must be at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels.
(Fails under WCAG 2.2 AAA 2.5.5)

All these issues we aimed to have resolved by 31/08/2024.

The following issues may occur with screen readers:

  • iframe with title attribute doesn't work in some screen readers.
  • An element placeholder link with no event handler or href attribute doesn't work in some screen readers

How this website was tested

This website was tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.2 level A, level AA and AAA using a variety of software, and extensive manual checking and testing.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We plan to identify and fix issues, which fail the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 A and AA standard by 31/08/2024.

We plan to identify and fix issues, which fail the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 A and AAA standard by 31/08/2024.

We will update the accessibility statement when issues are fixed or when we expect them to be fixed. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was originally prepared on 12th February 2023. The website was last reviewed on 3rd November 2023.

The review was carried out by Clive Loseby, with some additional support from two members of Access by Design’s Team of Disabled Testers. Access by Design

The full Audit, along with this Accessibility Statement, was prepared and produced by Clive Loseby, Access by Design. If you wish for a copy of the audit please contact us.

Page last updated 09/11/2023

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