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Accessibility Statement for PARE

This accessibility statement applies to the PARE website, onlinePARE.net.

This website is run by the University of Chester’s PARE Team. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts.
  • zoom in up to 300% 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.
  • listen to most of 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.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Some images within PDFs do not have appropriate alternative text.
  • Some charts on PARE’s report pages are not fully accessible due to two-dimensional scrolling and content appearing on-hover not being dismissed by keyboard alone.
  • Issues with speech recognition software mean users are not able to upload additional documents when raising tickets in PARE’s help centre.
  • Some older assessment document pages contain content provided by universities that is not fully accessible, such as images that are not self-explanatory to screen readers.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, please create a support ticket using PARE’s Help Centre.

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 help us improve and contact the PARE Team by creating a support ticket.

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

PARE 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 partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content that is not accessible is listed below, together with an explanation and reference to the relevant WCAG section.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Some images within PDFs do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information in this format (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content). The PDFs in question are exported versions of PARE web pages and don’t contain additional content. The web pages themselves are fully accessible.
  • Two-dimensional scrolling is required to access page content when zooming the page to 400% with a browser width of 1280px when viewing some charts on PARE’s report pages (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow).
  • Content that appears on hover or focus is unable to be dismissed without moving the pointer cursor on charts on PARE’s report pages (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus).

Disproportionate burden

Uploading Files using Speech Recognition Software

It is not possible to upload files using the upload button on the Help Centre page. This is a known issue of speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking and cannot be fixed by PARE. PARE’s Support Team will provide any users experiencing an issue with assistance to successfully upload files.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

PARE aims to deliver accessible content by:

  • designing and building content to meet level AA of WCAG 2.2.
  • considering accessibility on all development tasks and projects.
  • making accessibility the whole team's responsibility.
  • educating external content owners on the importance of designing and building accessible content.

Content and services are regularly reviewed with opportunities for accessibility improvements identified and actioned where possible.

Actions to improve PARE’s accessibility are included as part of the PARE Maintenance Programme. Actions the team will be reviewing as part of the PARE Maintenance Programme include:

  • Reviewing the feasibility and accessibility benefits of switching to a different external chart provider.
  • Reviewing the feasibility of implementing additional post-PDF generation processing in relation to issues with alternative text in some current PDF content.

If a PARE user contacts the team with an accessibility issue, this is prioritised and treated as an urgent technical issue.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 23/10/2024. It was last reviewed on 31/10/2024.

This website was last externally tested on 22/10/2024. The test was carried out by Zoonou.

Zoonou used WCAG-EM to define the pages tested and test approach.