Chair: Alistair McNaught, subject specialist (accessibility and inclusion), Jisc
Speakers:
Abi James, senior accessibility and usability consultant, Ability Net
Anthony Ilona, policy engagement manager, Government Digital Service, Cabinet Office
Julia Taylor, subject specialist (accessibility and inclusion), Jisc
FE and HE providers are subject to new regulation in respect of their websites, intranets and digital platforms. The legislation clarifies the entitlements of disabled students, puts new obligations on providers and is subject to auditing.
This session with input from Jisc, AbilityNet and the Government Digital Service (GDS) will provide:
A brief introduction to the key points of the legislation
An overview of the potential benefits for organisations in terms of improved service join up, quality assurance and digital competency agendas
An overview of how to create and test accessible platforms
A summary of how GDS are working with the sector to ensure guidance is contextualised, avoiding unintended consequences
4. Timeline
New websites compliant by 23 September 2019
Existing websites compliant by 23 September 2020
Mobile apps compliant by 23 June 2021
5. The new legislation - five things to know
5
1. In place Sept 2018 - increased risks - compliance, discrimination
claim, reputational damage
2. If your websites don’t meet the ‘accessibility standards’ you are in
breach of the regulations
3. Exemptions – particular organisations and particular content
4. Disproportionate burden – cost benefit analysis
5. Monitoring and enforcement
6. An opportunity for quality improvement
6
Potential benefits for organisations
• Improve student experience
• Retention and achievement and satisfaction
• Business development and expansion
• Innovative teaching practice
• Social contracts and community engagement
• Good practice, inspection and funding
• Accountability, cost and efficiency
• Maximise ROI
7. Jisc Support
Visit our page
Jisc.ac.uk/accessibility
Join the Digital Accessibility
Regulations mailing list
http://tiny.cc/DigRegMail
7
8. Abi James, AbilityNet and University of Southampton
Responding to the digital
accessibility regulations
10. Digital Accessibility does not stand alone
10
•Over 13 million people in the UK have a
disability
•12% of students declare a disability (HESA)
•18% of students are regularly using
assistive technology (JISC digital tracker)
•20% of students are from another country
with potential language and cultural barriers
to learning
Equality Act
Widening
Participation
Inclusive
Teaching
and
Learning
11. •European standard “EN 301 549”
•Aligned to WCAG 2.1 level AA
Covers
•Web
•Non-web documents
•Non-web software and apps
WCAG 2.1 is the new web accessibility
guidelines published 2018
•51 success criteria
What are the relevant accessibility standards?
11
Perceivable
• Content is presented in ways that can be accessed by all
Operable
• Content is presented in ways that can be operated by
all
Understandable
• Content is presented in ways that can be understood
by all
Robust
• Content is reliable and compatible with assistive technology
and standards
12. What digital tools does the regulations cover?
12
•Websites
•Documents hosted on websites
•Videos and multimedia content
•Intranets and extranets VLEs
•Libraries
•Student portals
•Staff systems
•Apps
•Purchased 3rd party content and tools
13. Common issues
13
• Incorrect / lack of heading structure
websites, documents
• Insufficient colour contrast or use of colour for meaning
websites, documents, apps
• Missing alternative descriptions on images
websites, documents, apps
• Lack of keyboard only access and missing focus indicator
websites, apps
• Form field error messages
websites, apps
• No captions, transcripts or audio descriptions on videos
14. Accessibility is addressed at different stages of a project
14
Design
Colours and
focus
indicator
Icons &
layout
Templates
Development
Forms
Keyboard
access
Responsive
design
Content
Images
Multimedia
Language
16. What if I can’t meet accessibility standards?
16
Disproportionate burden e.g. captioning lecture recordings
•Must perform an initial assessment of the extent to which compliance with the accessibility
requirement imposes a disproportionate burden
•Size and resources of organisation
•Costs and benefits to people with disabilities, taking into account use of app website /
document
“You can’t take into account irrelevant things like lack of time or knowledge,
or because you haven’t given it priority.” Gov.uk
•Must state the components that do not comply with standards in the accessibility statement
•Where possible provide accessible alternatives
Disproportionate burden ==== reasonable adjustments
17. Accessibility statements and processes
17
Must publish statements for websites and apps
•State which components do not meet
accessibility standards and why
•How people with access needs can get
alternatives
•How to report accessibility problems
•Doesn’t need to be technical language – an
opportunity to promote what works
•Likely each different technical platform will
need a separate statement
•Should be easy to find and understand
32. GDS
Let us know what you think of the guidance:
accessibility@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
33. Contact Details
33
Any questions?
Abi James
AbilityNet & University of Southampton
abi.james@abilitynet.org.uk
Julia Taylor
Jisc Subject specialist, Inclusion
Julia.taylor@jisc.ac.uk
Tony Ilona
Policy engagement manager GDS
anthony.ilona@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
34. customerservices@jisc.ac.uk
jisc.ac.uk
Thank you
Alistair McNaught
subject specialist –
accessibility, Jisc
Alistair.mcnaught@jisc.ac.uk
Julia Taylor
subject specialist, Jisc
Julia.taylor@jisc.ac.uk
Abi James
AbilityNet and
University of Southampton
abi.james@abilitynet.org.uk
Antony Ilona
Policy engagement manager,
GDS
anthony.ilona@digital.cabinet-
office.gov.uk
Editor's Notes
According to the regulations, accessibility refers to a set of principles to follow when delivering online services and information to make sure people can use them, especially people with disabilities.
These principles help ensure that people with a range of capability - across vision, hearing, mobility and cognition - don’t face barriers that prevent them from using websites and mobile apps.
We will hear more about the specific requirements from our expert speakers – Abi James from AbilityNet and Tony Ilona from Cabinet Office Gov Digital Service.
These regulations are an implementation of an EU Directive of 2016 and called…The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations
They refer specifically to websites and mobile apps and came into force on the 23rd September last year. So not new!
There are some deadlines to note...
New websites compliant by
23 September 2019
Existing websites compliant by
23 September 2020
Mobile apps compliant by
23 June 2021
The enforcement bodies are:
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI)
Minister for the Cabinet Office
GDS will be the monitoring body that checks a sample of websites and apps.
We will be hearing from Tony Ilona from GDS later
What you need to know
The web accessibility effects public sector website and that includes most HE and FE, a context in which web-based content will be very varied and very inter-active and central to successful outcomes for students. The potential impact is huge!
Public sector bodies will need to:
Evaluate the accessibility of their websites and apps against the standard
Fix issues
Unless disproportionate burden
Unless content is exempt
Publish an accessibility statement
The new legislation - 5 things to know
In place Sept 2018 – this means increased risks - compliance, discrimination claim, reputational damage - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/952/made
If your websites don’t meet the ‘accessibility standards’ you are in breach of the regulations.
Exemptions – particular organisations & particular content
Disproportionate burden – cost benefit analysis
Monitoring and enforcement
Jisc is encouraging members to see this as an opportunity for quality improvement.
To focus on the potential benefits…
Improve student experience
Retention and achievement and satisfaction
Business Development and expansion
Innovative teaching practice
Social contracts and community engagement
Good practice, inspection and funding
Accountability, cost and efficiency
Maximise ROI
Jisc has been working with policy connect and GDS and our members to help to ensure the needs of the education sector are represented and that the impact is as positive as it could be on the student experience.
Visit our page Jisc.ac.uk/accessibility find out what Jisc is doing and can do for you and how you can get involved:
Join the Digital Accessibility Regulations mailing list:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=DIGITALACCESSIBILITYREGULATIONS
Join the JiscMail for those interested in the new digital accessibility regulations and what they mean for online and blended learning.
It is a space to ask questions, and share information, ideas and examples of good practice
DWAG Working group established.
Abi James our next speaker is a founder member and we will hear from her on her approach to embedding technical accessibility
Responding to the digital accessibility regulations
Abi James, AbilityNet & University of Southampton
Accessibility is a journey, not necessarily a destination
Embedding accessibility:
Requires policies, processes and quality assurance
Has design, content, procurement and technical requirements
Will involve staff from across the organisation
Digital accessibility does not stand alone
Over 13 million people in the UK have a disability
12% of students declare a disability (HESA)
18% of students are regularly using assistive technology (JISC digital tracker)
20% of students are from another country with potential language and cultural barriers to learning.
Equality Act, inclusive Teaching and learning and widening participation overlap
What are the relevant accessibility standards?
European standard “EN 301 549”
Aligned to WCAG 2.1 level AA
Covers
Web
Non-web documents
Non-web software and apps
WCAG 2.1 is the new web accessibility guidelines published 2018
51 success criteria
Perceivable-Content is presented in ways that can be accessed by all
Operable- Content is presented in ways that can be operated by all
Understandable- Content is presented in ways that can be understood by all
Robust - Content is reliable and compatible with assistive technology and standards
What digital tools does the regulations cover?
Websites
Documents hosted on websites
Videos & multimedia content
Intranets and extranets VLEs
Libraries
Student portals
Staff systems
Apps
Purchased 3rd party content and tools
Common Issues
Incorrect / lack of heading structure
websites, documents
Insufficient colour contrast or use of colour for meaning
websites, documents, apps
Missing alternative descriptions on images
websites, documents, apps
Lack of keyboard only access & missing focus indicator
websites, apps
Form field error messages
websites, apps
No captions, transcripts or audio descriptions on videos
Accessibility is addressed at different stages of a project
Design
colours & focus indicator
Icons & layout
Templates
Development
Forms
Keyboard access
Responsive design
Content
Images
Multimedia
Language
Accessibility is addressed at different stages of a project
Purchase new platform – Across all stages
Buy in content – back through the stages
Create new VLE template – Beginning with Design phase
What if I can’t meet accessibility standards?
Disproportionate burden e.g. captioning lecture recordings
Must perform an initial assessment of the extent to which compliance with the accessibility requirement imposes a disproportionate burden
Size and resources of organisation
Costs and benefits to people with disabilities, taking into account use of app / website / document
“You can’t take into account irrelevant things like lack of time or knowledge, or because you haven’t given it priority.” Gov.uk
Must state the components that do not comply with standards in the accessibility statement
Where possible provide accessible alternatives
Disproportionate burden ==== reasonable adjustments
Note:
Regulation 5 does not require a public sector body to apply the accessibility requirement if doing so would impose a disproportionate burden on the public sector body. (2) A public sector body must perform an initial assessment of the extent to which compliance with the accessibility requirement imposes a disproportionate burden.
(3) In undertaking a disproportionate burden assessment, the public body concerned must take account of relevant circumstances, including— (a) the size, resources and nature of the public sector body concerned; and
(b) the estimated costs and benefits for the public sector body concerned in relation to the estimated benefits for persons with disabilities, taking into account the frequency and duration of use of the specific website or mobile application.
(4) If, following a disproportionate burden assessment, a public sector body determines that compliance with the accessibility requirement would impose a disproportionate burden, it must— (a) explain in its accessibility statement the parts of the accessibility requirement that could not be complied with; and
(b) where appropriate, provide accessible alternatives to documents held by that public sector body that are not available on their website or mobile application.
Accessibility Statements & processes
Must publish statements for websites and apps
State which components do not meet accessibility standards and why
How people with access needs can get alternatives
How to report accessibility problems
Doesn’t need to be technical language – an opportunity to promote what works
Likely each different technical platform will need a separate statement
Should be easy to find and understand
We’ve been working with the content designers in the Service Manual Team to create guidance to help people understand the regulations and how to meet them.
Here’s a image of our core guidance that can be found on GOV.UK. This has already undergon
Screen grab. Gov.uk webpage: Make your public sector website or app accessiblee a number of iterations based on user research and feedback
We have also updated guidance on GOV.UK on how to create and test accessible documents - such as PDFs
Publishing accessible documentsScreen grab. Gov.uk webpage: How to choose an accessible format and make non[HTML documents meet accessibility standards.
And have updated a simple guide to help people understand what the latest version of WCAG is and what it requires people to do
Screen grab. Gov.uk webpage: Understanding WCAG 2.1
We’ve also improved guidance on how to test for accessibility - including how to get an accessibility audit
Screen grab. Gov.uk webpage: Testing for accessibility
We’ve been working hard to promote the new regulations across the public sector - including meeting lots of stakeholders and running workshops.
We’ve published a series of blog posts including this one...
Screen grab. Gov.uk Blog: Government Digital Service. How we’re helping public sector websites to meet accessibility requirements
And this one on accessibility statements
Screen grab. Gov.uk Blog: Government Digital Service: Public sector website accessibility statements – what you need to know
A quick word on what’s coming next?
We have a blog post on how we’ll ensure compliance with the regulations...through monitoring and enforcement
Scoping the GDS monitoring team
We’ve been developing an understanding of what the monitoring .team will need to do, it’s size and shape
A model accessibility statement
We’ve also been working on a template which public sector bodies will need to use when creating their accessibility statements
We’re also helping public sector bodies as much as we can by developing guidance even further
...And on that note, we’d love to hear you feedback on our guidance to help us make it as useful as possible. Thank you!
Let us know what you think of the guidance:
accessibility@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk
Any questions?
Abi James
AbilityNet & University of Southampton
abi.james@abilitynet.org.uk
Julia Taylor
Jisc Subject specialist, Inclusion
Julia.taylor@jisc.ac.uk
Tony Ilona
Policy engagement manager GDS
anthony.ilona@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk