The statement covers the https://help.crestawards.org.
● change colours, contrast levels and fonts
● zoom in up to 200% 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
● navigate the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
My Computer My Way has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Although we constantly test our online platform to the WCAG 2.1 guidelines to ensure it works on both desktop and mobile devices, currently there are some barriers that may prevent disabled users’ access to the website, such as:
Across the pages tested there were multiple issues relating to colour contrast of both text and the border of interactive components. It is likely that users would experience difficulty or entirely miss certain information on the site. As an example, 4.5:1 is the minimum contrast between small text and its background. However, some of the text in the header has a colour contrast ratio of just 1.8, meaning users will be likely to miss any information or purpose of this text.
This issue is not limited just to text but also some of the interactive elements of the page where some of the items have a low contrast on their borders meaning that users may experience trouble seeing where exactly they are supposed to click or not realise that the text is interactive. Examples of this include the yes/no buttons for the “was this article helpful”, which have a colour contrast ratio of 1.5:1. The contrast ratio for the border of interactive components must be at least 3:1.
Forms must be clearly labelled and grouped so that screen readers can navigate them correctly.
One example was the “was this article helpful” section, which appeared at the bottom of most pages and had no grouping. This meant that the responses were disconnected from the question which could lead to a screen reader user’s confusion. Adding to this, the responses were also ungrouped, so certain screen readers may not accurately know what the responses do.
In another instance on the sign-in page the labels for the forms used placeholder text as a way of labelling the form fields. If a user enters data into the field, they will lose the ability to identify what field they are editing. All fields must have a visual and programmatic label.
Pages need landmarks for screen reader users to be able to quickly and easily navigate the page content. The help centre lacks any landmarks whatsoever meaning that users will have to use alternative methods of navigation if they only want to access a particular section.
Many components and features have been created using neutral markup, such as `<div>` and `<span>`. This is causing these components to not be operable to screen reader and keyboard-only users. Examples of this include the “yes/no” buttons at the end of articles, and the font settings button in the header. Components should have markup that is appropriate for their purpose, such as `<button>`. Without this correct markup, screen readers will find it impossible to complete some actions. This is a critical issue that must be corrected.
Some components have a feature that expands or collapses content. This is useful as it allows space on the page to be used more efficiently. However, some components do not include appropriate markup, such as appropriate WAI-ARIA, to convey their state to screen reader users. Without this information, screen reader users may only know if content is expanded by navigating the page and observing the differences. It may be the case that some users cannot recognise the changes and may believe that the feature is broken. Some of these features are useful and page interaction may be limited without them.
If you need information on this website in an alternative format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact us by using this data:
● email crest@britishscienceassociation.org
We will consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.
We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact: our CREST Team on crest@britishscienceassociation.org
The British Science Association Crest Awards is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-compliances are listed below.
● Content images don’t have appropriate alt text. This falls under: 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A)
● Image text is used. This falls under: 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A)
● Content has heading markup but is not a heading. This falls under: 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA)
● Heading order is illogical. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA)
● List markup is missing for list items. This falls under: 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA)
● Neutral markup is used for interactive elements. This falls under: 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
● Anchors are used for buttons. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
● Landmarks are not used correctly on the page. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
● List markup used on non-list items. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
● List markup is misused. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
● Provide landmarks for page navigation. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
● Form fields are not associated with text labels. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA) and 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A)
● Placeholder text cannot be used to label forms. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
● (HTML) Groups of related form fields are not grouped using Fieldset and Legend. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
● An input has an incorrect programmatic purpose. This falls under: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (Level AA)
● Errors that apply to groups of controls need to be programmatically associated with that group. This falls under:1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
● Links are visually distinguishable using colour alone. This falls under: 1.4.1 Use of Color (Level A)
● Dynamic changes or status updates are not being conveyed to assistive technologies. This falls under: 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics (Level A) and 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA)
● Colour contrast of text is insufficient for users with low vision. This falls under: 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA)
● Placeholder text contrast is insufficient for users with low vision. This falls under: 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA)
● Colour contrast across borders of interactive elements is insufficient for users with low vision. This falls under: 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA)
● Content is not keyboard accessible. This falls under: 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A)
● Modal dialogs need to trap focus until dialog is closed. This falls under: 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A), 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap (Level A) and 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA)
● There is no indication of focus for keyboard users. This falls under: 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA)
● There is no feature available that allows a user to skip blocks of repetitive content. This falls under:2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A)
● Reading order is incorrect or illogical. This falls under: 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A)
● Link text is not descriptive of the destination page. This falls under: 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A)
● Button text is missing. This falls under: 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
● The primary language of the page has not been identified. This falls under: 3.1.1 Language of Page (Level A)
● Code quality issues (parsing) mean that some of the content may not be accessible via software used by people with disabilities. This falls under: 4.1.1 Parsing (Level A)
● Expanding controls need appropriate name, role and value. This falls under: 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
● Components are missing appropriate name, role or value. This falls under: 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
● Users have to scroll across two dimensions to access content. This falls under:1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA)
We plan to fix all these issues by March 2021. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards. [If the client is not able to fix an issue by this date, they can add a date to the specific issue.]
[This section is for accessibility items that will not be fixed as it would be a disproportionate burden to fix them, e.g.
● It is not possible to change the device orientation of the league table page without making the content more difficult to view].
We have assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation and accessing information, and with interactive tools and transactions. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the supplier contract is up for renewal, likely to be in [rough timing].
We are doing the following to improve the accessibility of our Website:
● We have conducted an external audit to evaluate the current state of our online platform.
● We have had accessibility training to better understand existing accessibility issues that are currently present on our online platform.
● We are planning to fix the issues based on the external audit in the near future.
This statement was prepared on 8th February 2021. It was last reviewed on 8th February 2021.
This website was last tested on 23rd October 2020. The test was carried out by Dig Inclusion Ltd (www.diginclusion.com).