The statement covers this website (https://www.britishscienceassociation.org).

The purpose of the website to provide information, news and encourage partnership. It is run by British Science Association, who are committed to making this site as accessible as possible for persons with visual, hearing, cognitive and motor impairments.

Users are able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 400% 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’ve 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.

The British Science Association is committed to accessibility and will be auditing all of our organisational websites and platforms over the coming months. 

We are doing the following to improve the accessibility of this site, and the other websites and platforms we run:

• We have conducted an external audit to evaluate the current state of this site.
• We have had accessibility training to better understand existing accessibility issues that are currently present.
• We are planning to address the issues, based on the external audit, in the near future.

How accessible the website is

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:

• Changes of content not communicated to screen reader users
  Users of assistive technologies are not made aware of dynamic status updates and changes of content. For example, a text indicating the number of results per page changes when the user activates the "Load more" element. This change is not communicated, so screen reader users will only know if the new content has appeared by inspecting the page.
• Error messages are not associated with incorrect input fields
  There are error messages which do not have a programmatic relationship with their relevant form fields. It means that screen reader users will not be informed of what the issue is when they navigate into one of those fields using the Tab keyboard key.
• Form fields are not associated with text labels
  There are form fields with visual text labels. They do not have a programmatic relationship with each other. It means that screen reader users will not know what is the purpose of such a field when they navigate into it using the Tab keyboard key.
• Links are distinguished using colour only
  Certain inline links are differentiated from the static text using colour only. For example, dark blue text is used to highlight a link within the block of text in black. The two colours do not meet the minimum contrast ratio requirement of 3:1. As such, users with colour-blindness may have difficulty finding links.
• The text does not have enough contrast ratio against the background colour.
  There are parts of the text which do not meet the minimum contrast ratio requirements. As such, users with low vision may find it challenging to read such a text

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in an alternative format, please contact us. We will consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days. 

• Email: [email protected]

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact Louise Ogden:

• Email: [email protected]

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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The British Science Association 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 not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-compliances are listed below.

Text Alternatives 

• Some linked images are missing alt text required to give them context; however, in most instances, these images sit alongside correctly formatted links. 
  • (1.1.1 Non-text Content [level A]) 
  • (2.4.4 Link Purpose (in context) [level A]) 
  • (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A]) 
• Some logos presented on our Partners page are missing alt text. 
  • (1.1.1 Non-text Content [level A]) 

Time-Based Media 

• A YouTube video presents visual content only, but users are not informed that there is no audio content. 
  • (1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) [level A]) 

Adaptable/Compatible 

• Search inputs are wrapped with a fieldset; however, they do not have a corresponding legend. 
  • (1.3.1 Info and Relationships [level A]) 
  • (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A]) 
• Text on some pages has been programmatically defined as a heading, but it does not head up content 
  • (1.3.1 Info and Relationships [level A]) 
  • (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A]) 
• Some pages contain empty headings. Some are due to images containing no alt text where the image is the only item contained in the heading. 
  • (1.3.1 Info and Relationships [level A]) 
  • (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A]) 
• Checkboxes within the cookie management modal are pseudo-elements that rely on JavaScript. They are not programmatically checkboxes and are not available to users who rely on assistive technology. 
  • (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A]) 
• When submitting forms, such as the Contact form and the Newsletter signup, no indication is given to users of assistive technology that the submission was successful. 
  • (4.1.3 Status Messages [level AA]) 

Distinguishable 

• Some text within the cookie management modal and pages that include a right-hand sidebar have insufficient colour contrast. 
• Additionally, there is insufficient colour contrast in some of the text images and call-to-action buttons. 
  • (1.4.3 Contrast (minimum) [level AA]) 
• The search input field in the header has non-text contrast issues. Additionally, the TikTok icon in the footer does not display on keyboard focus. 
  • (1.4.11 Non-text Contrast [level AA]) 
• There are images of text with insufficient alt text. 

Keyboard Accessible 

• There is no keyboard access to the cookie management link in the footer. 
  • (2.1.1 Keyboard [level A] 

Navigable 

• There is no visible keyboard focus to many of the linked images. 
  • (2.4.7 Focus Visible [level AA]) 
• There is an empty link on the News & Blog page. This appears to be a coding error. 
  • (2.4.4 Link Purpose (in context) [level A]) 

Input Modalities

• The “Details” links within the cookie management modal are triggered on press, rather than when the focus is lifted. 
  • (2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation [level A]) 

We will begin addressing these issues in April 2024. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 15 March 2024. 

This website was last tested on March 7– 15, 2024. The test was carried out by GrackleDocs (www.grackledocs.com).