Accessibility
We are committed to ensuring that our website is accessible to everyone.
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the accessibility of this site, please contact us.
For help customising your view of this website, see the BBC's My Web My Way and AbilityNet's My Computer, My Way.
Changing text size
Most browsers feature the ability to resize text on screen to a level you feel comfortable with.
This tool is available in the menu of various browsers as follows:
| Browser | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Internet Explorer 7 (PC) | Page > Zoom |
| Internet Explorer 5, 5.5, 6 (PC) | View > Text Size |
| Firefox, Netscape 8 | View > Text Size |
| Opera | View > Zoom |
| Netscape 6, 7, Mozilla | View > Text Zoom |
| Safari (Mac) | View > Make Text Bigger |
Alternatively, if you are using a modern browser and have a mouse with a wheel you can also alter the size of the text size by holding down ctrl (PC) or command (Mac) on your keyboard while scrolling up and down with the mouse wheel.
Access keys
The access key function allows you to surf around a site without using your mouse to click on links.
Using your keyboard, it's possible to jump directly to certain links or certain areas within a page, without having to move your mouse at all.
By holding down alt+[access key] (PC), ctrl+[access key] (Mac) or alt+shift+[access key] (Firefox 2, both Mac and PC), a link becomes highlighted. You can then hit the enter key to activate the link.
| Function | Access key |
|---|---|
| Skip navigation | S |
| Access key details | 0 |
| Home page | 1 |
| Site map | 3 |
| Search | 4 |
| FAQ | 5 |
| Terms and conditions | 8 |
| Feedback form | 9 |
Using the tab key
You can use the Tab key on your keyboard to move between links on a page. A single press of Tab highlights the next link, Shift+Tab highlights the previous link.
When you use the Tab key to move between links on our website, you'll be taken through them in the following order:
- main content
- secondary navigation
- supporting navigation
- footer - tools navigation
- footer navigation
- header - tools navigation
- primary navigation
All forms on our website have a logical tab sequence.
Links
Links to files (for example PDF files and Microsoft Word documents) always open in a new window.
Every effort has been made to ensure that link names are distinct and not repeated on a page.
Contrast
We have made every effort to ensure that we have used sufficient contrast on our website but if you notice any colour combinations that cause you problems, please contact us.
Standards compliance
- Wherever possible, our pages conform at a minimum to Level AA compliance as specified by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and endorsed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). The majority of AAA requirements are also met.
- Our site requires a number of different CSS techniques for cross browser compatibility which can cause validator problems. However, we have ensured that all techniques we use are not detrimental to site accessibility.
- We strive to obey the spirit of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 with respect to the provision of services online, as required by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.