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.
Exploring our website
Our website works best on Internet Explorer 8 onwards. If you are using a version earlier than Internet Explorer 8 we recommend that you upgrade to the latest version. You can download the latest version from Download IE.
If you are using Firefox, Chrome or Safari, these browsers now automatically update so you should be viewing our website on the latest version
Changing text size
Most browsers allow you to resize text on screen to a level you feel comfortable with. The following table tells you how to do this in different browsers.
| Browser | How to change the text size |
|---|---|
| Internet Explorer 7+ (PC) | On the top menu: Tools > Zoom (top right hand corner) Or press Ctrl and '+' to increase the zoom and Ctrl and '-' to decrease the zoom. |
| Firefox (PC) | Press ‘Ctrl’ and ‘+’ to zoom in or ‘Ctrl’ and ‘-’ to zoom out. To return the page to the standard size press ‘Ctrl’ + ‘0’. Alternatively click on ‘View’ on the top menu or press ‘Alt’ + ‘V’ and click to select ‘Zoom’ or press ‘Z’. Click to select ‘Zoom In’ or press ‘Alt’ + ‘I’. Click to select ‘Zoom Out’ or ‘Alt’ + ‘O’. |
| Firefox (Mac) | On the top menu: Or use keyboard shortcuts: |
| Chrome (PC) | Using the mouse, click on the Chrome menu at the top right corner of the page and then: |
| Chrome (Mac) | Using the mouse, click on the Chrome menu at the top right corner of the page and then: Click on ‘-‘ to zoom out Click on ‘100%’ to return to the standard size Click on ‘+’ to zoom in Or use keyboard shortcut: ‘Cmd’ + ‘+’ to zoom in ‘Cmd’ + ‘-‘ to zoom out ‘Cmd’ + ‘0’ to return to the standard size |
| Safari | On the top menu: View > Make Text Bigger Or use keyboard shortcuts: Press ‘Cmd’ and ‘+’ to increase the text size and ‘Cmd’ ‘and ‘-’ to decrease the text size. Press ‘Cmd’ + ‘0’ to return to the standard size. |
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 ‘Cmd' (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.
- IE 8+ (PC): Hold the Alt key and press the access key
- Firefox (PC): Hold the Alt key and Shift keys and press the access key
- Firefox (Mac): Hold down the Ctrl key and press the access key
- Chrome (PC): Hold down the Alt key and press the access key
- Chrome (Mac): Hold down the Ctrl and Opt keys and press the access key
- Safari (PC): Hold down the Alt key and press the access key
- Safari (MAC): Hold down the Cmd key and press the access key
| 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. Pressing the Tab key once 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.
We try to make sure that link names are unique and are not repeated on a page.
Contrast
We have tried to use sufficient colour contrast on our website but if you notice any colour combinations that cause you problems, please contact us.
Standards compliance
- Our pages conform at a minimum to Level AA compliance as specified by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Wherever possible, AAA requirements are also met.
- Our site requires a number of different CSS techniques to work on different browsers, which can cause some problems for web designers or web developers who may wish to check the validity of the style sheets used on our site. However, we have ensured that all techniques we use are not detrimental to site accessibility.