Accessibility
We have taken an active interest in accessibility issues and have endeavoured to produce this site to a high accessiblity standard. The following features improve the accessibility for screen reader users, keyboard navigation and users of text-only browsers.
Navigation shortcuts
When viewing without a stylesheet, at the start of each page you will find a short menu that allows you to you to jump directly to the main content. Sighted people who use the keyboard to navigate will see these links appear on screen when using the Tab key to navigate through the page if their browser fully supports this feature.
Structured, semantic markup
We have recognised the need to use structured meaningful mark up and to separate style from content where possible. Please click here for information on structured semantic markup.
HTML heading tags are used to convey document structure. H1 tags are used for main titles, h2 tags for subtitles and so on. This can make it easier for people with screen reading devices to gain a quicker understanding of the pages content.
Navigation menus are marked up as XHTML lists. This ensures that it can be skipped easily and the number of links in the list is read out at the start.
This site validates at XHTML strict
Images
All non-decorative images used in this site include descriptive alt attributes. Purely decorative graphics include empty alt attributes or are not included in the XHTML.
Font sizes
You may change the text size of this document to your preference either with the links added by CST or through your browser:
- In Internet Explorer, select View, then Text Size, and then your preferred size.
- In Netscape / Firefox select View, then Text Zoom, and then your preferred percentage size.
Scripting
The majority of the scripting is server side and the rest of the site is accessible if client side scripting is unavailable.
Accessibility features in your browser
Internet Explorer
Choose Help: Contents: Accessibility
Netscape Navigator
Keyboard shortcuts: http://help.netscape.com/netscape7/shortcuts.html http://www.mozilla.org/projects/ui/accessibility
In Netscape, you can specify your own h4s and colours by selecting Edit, then Preferences and then Appearance.