Accessibility report for www.bcot.ac.uk
Introduction
Website accessibility regulations came into force on 23 September 2018. The regulations mean that public sector bodies now have a legal obligation to meet accessibility requirements for their websites.
To check how well the public sector are meeting the requirements, the Government Digital Service (part of the Cabinet Office) has been monitoring a sample of public sector websites.
You’ve been sent this report because https://www.bcot.ac.uk/ is one of the websites we’ve monitored. This document explains:
- which parts of your website we looked at
- how we checked the accessibility of those pages
- the accessibility issues found and how important they are
- what you need to do next to fix the issues
You can read more about the web accessibility regulations.
How accessible the website is
We checked https://www.bcot.ac.uk/ on 13 January 2023 against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard.
Based on our testing, this site is partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA. This means there are some things which are not fully accessible.
How we checked
We use a mixture of simple manual checks and automated tests to find only the most common barriers to users with accessibility needs. We would expect your organisation to fully audit the website to find any other accessibility issues.
Manual checks included using each page without a mouse, viewing the page at different zoom settings, and simulating viewing the page on a small screen.
The automated tests were completed using the latest version of Axe.
Tests were completed using different settings in the Google Chrome browser on Mac OSX with a 13 inch screen.
Pages we checked
| Page Name | URL |
|---|---|
Home page |
|
Contact Page |
|
Accessibility Statement |
|
Form |
|
Our Approach |
|
Evolve Salon |
|
Boost Your Future PDF |
https://www.bcot.ac.uk/media/4204/aw-8934-bcot-part-time-course-guide-2022_23.pdf |
The issues we found
Only serious accessibility issues on the sample of pages we tested are listed in this report – these will cause problems for users with access needs when using your website. There are likely to be smaller errors which will make things more difficult for some users. You must carry out your own audit to find and fix issues on other pages.
Home page page issues
| # | Issue and description | Where the issue was found |
|---|---|---|
| Issue:1 |
Users should be able to use a keyboard to access all content and functionality of a web page. This means the page can be used by people with no vision as well as people who use alternative keyboards or input devices that act as a keyboard. |
There is no keyboard access to the chat bot once it has been closed |
| Issue:2 |
A visible focus helps users know which element has keyboard focus and where they are on the page. When an element gets focus there should be a visible border around it. Highlighting the element that has keyboard focus or is hovered over can provide information like whether the element is interactive or the scope of that element. Operating systems have a native indication of focus, which is available in many browsers. The default display of the focus indicator is not always highly visible and may even be difficult to see especially on coloured backgrounds. |
|
| Issue:3 |
Content that moves, flashes or updates automatically can be a severe distraction for certain users, making it difficult to use the page. It can also cause problems for assistive technologies like screen readers. For any moving, flashing or scrolling information that:
there should be a way for the user to pause, stop or hide it, unless it is part of an essential activity. There must be a method to allow the user to pause, stop, hide or control the frequency for content that automatically begins ‘auto-updating’ in parallel with other content unless it is essential to an activity. |
The carousel automatically updates and cannot be paused, stopped or hidden. |
| Issue:4 | WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast. Poor colour contrast makes it difficult for someone with sight loss to see the content properly. If there is a big difference between the background and foreground colours it should be much easier to see the difference between them. |
The white text on the green background fails across the page. |
| Issue:5 | WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: Certain ARIA roles must contain particular children. Issue found using Deque Axe. Fully sighted users understand the structure and link between elements on a page via visual clues. Assistive technologies interpret ARIA parent and child roles to perform accessibility functions and give this structural context to users. If an ARIA parent role does not contain a valid child role, or a child role does not have the correct parent role, assistive technology may provide confusing information about a page. Parent and child ARIA roles must be valid. |
This is an issue in relation to the carousel. The element has children which are not allowed and no aria-busy="true" attribute. |
| Issue:6 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: ARIA roles used must conform to valid values. Issue found using Deque Axe. Incorrect use of ARIA attributes can cause conflicts with semantic HTML elements which may cause errors in assistive technology and make accessibility worse for a user. ARIA defines which attributes are allowed and where. ARIA attributes can cause issues where:
|
This is an issue in relation to the search bar at the bottom of the page as siteSearch is not a valid ARIA role. |
| Issue:7 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: Elements must only use allowed ARIA attributes. Issue found using Deque Axe. Incorrect use of ARIA attributes can cause conflicts with semantic HTML elements which may cause errors in assistive technology and make accessibility worse for a user. ARIA defines which attributes are allowed and where. ARIA attributes can cause issues where:
|
This is an issue in relation to the carousel where the ARIA attribute is selected = "false" |
| Issue:8 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: ARIA input fields must have an accessible name. Issue found using Deque Axe. ARIA components such as buttons, input fields, toggle fields and tooltips must have an accessible name that details the purpose. This gives context to assistive technology users and ensures custom elements are read correctly. Accessible names should be added to elements with the following roles: button, checkbox, combobox, link, listbox, menu, menuitem, radio, searchbox and tooltip. |
This is an issue in relation to the navigation dots for the carousel. |
| Issue:9 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: ARIA hidden element must not be focusable or contain focusable elements. Issue found using Deque Axe. The aria-hidden="true" attribute on an element makes it, and its child elements invisible to assistive technology. It may be used to hide content a user does not need to access such as unnecessary content or decorative images. If aria-hidden="true" is used on a focusable element, it will be ignored in the reading order but will still get focus confusing the user. It should not be used on focusable elements or on the body element of a page. |
This is an issue in relation to the carousel where focusable content should be removed from the DOM. |
| Issue:10 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: Ensure interactive controls are not nested. Issue found using Deque Axe. Interactive controls like buttons and links should not have child elements which are focusable. This is because the child elements are not announced by screen readers, but they still appear in the tab order, making it harder to navigate. |
This is an issue in relation to the carousel because the elements have focusable descendants. The related node is <a class="standardButton" href="/courses/t-levels/" tabindex="0">Find out more</a> |
Contact Page page issues
https://www.bcot.ac.uk/information/contact-us/
| # | Issue and description | Where the issue was found |
|---|---|---|
| Issue:1 | Visible focus is lost when tabbing through the navigation links in the header |
|
| Issue:2 | WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast. |
This is an issue in relation to the search bar with the white text on grey. |
| Issue:3 | WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content: Images must have alternate text. Issue found using Deque Axe. People with sight loss may not be able to see an image clearly on a page. Text alternatives can be used by screen readers to share the same information a sighted user would get from the image. The alternative text must describe the information or function represented by the image. Alternatives or alt attributes must be used for items such as:
|
This is an issue in relation to the image labeled "bcot_purple.jpg" within the google map. |
| Issue:4 | WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: <ul> and <ol> must only directly contain <li>, <script> or <template> elements. Issue found using Deque Axe. Screen readers tell users if a list is present and how many items are in the list. This helps users to know what they are reading and what to expect. It is important to use the correct semantic hierarchy for lists. Ordered, unordered and description lists must contain semantically correct parent and child elements. When lists contain other elements or they are ordered incorrectly, screen readers are not able to read the lists accurately. |
This is an issue in relation to "Further Information Menu" where the list element has direct children that are not allowed: "ul" |
| Issue:5 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: ARIA roles used must conform to valid values. |
This is an issue in relation to the search bar which does not have a valid ARIA role: siteSearch. |
Accessibility Statement page issues
https://www.bcot.ac.uk/information/accessibility/
| # | Issue and description | Where the issue was found |
|---|---|---|
| Issue:1 | Visible focus is lost when tabbing through the navigation links in the header |
|
| Issue:2 | WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast. |
This is an issue in relation to the search bar with the white text on grey. |
| Issue:3 | WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: <ul> and <ol> must only directly contain <li>, <script> or <template> elements. |
This is an issue in relation to "Further Information Menu" where the list element has direct children that are not allowed: "ul" |
| Issue:4 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: ARIA roles used must conform to valid values. |
This is an issue in relation to the search bar which does not have a valid ARIA role: siteSearch. |
Form page issues
https://www.bcot.ac.uk/courses/course-guides/
| # | Issue and description | Where the issue was found |
|---|---|---|
| Issue:1 |
|
|
| Issue:2 | Visible focus is lost when tabbing through the navigation links in the header |
|
| Issue:3 | WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast. |
|
Our Approach page issues
https://www.bcot.ac.uk/about-bcot/our-approach/
| # | Issue and description | Where the issue was found |
|---|---|---|
| Issue:1 | WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast. |
This is an issue in relation to the search bar with the white text on grey. |
| Issue:2 | WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: <ul> and <ol> must only directly contain <li>, <script> or <template> elements. |
This is an issue in relation to "Further Information Menu" where the list element has direct children that are not allowed: "ul" |
| Issue:3 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: ARIA roles used must conform to valid values. |
This is an issue in relation to the search bar which does not have a valid ARIA role: siteSearch. |
Evolve Salon page issues
https://www.bcot.ac.uk/facilities/evolve-salon/
| # | Issue and description | Where the issue was found |
|---|---|---|
| Issue:1 | Visible focus is lost when tabbing through the navigation links in the header |
|
| Issue:2 | WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast. |
This is an issue in relation to the search bar with the white text on the dark grey background. |
| Issue:3 | WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: <ul> and <ol> must only directly contain <li>, <script> or <template> elements. |
This is an issue in relation to "Further Information Menu" where the list element has direct children that are not allowed: "ul" |
| Issue:4 | WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: ARIA roles used must conform to valid values. |
This is an issue in relation to the search bar which does not have a valid ARIA role: siteSearch. |
Boost Your Future PDF issues
https://www.bcot.ac.uk/media/4204/aw-8934-bcot-part-time-course-guide-2022_23.pdf
| # | Issue and description | Where the issue was found |
|---|---|---|
| Issue:1 |
Poor colour contrast makes it difficult for someone with sight loss to see the content properly. If there is a big difference between the background and foreground colours it should be much easier to see the difference between them. |
There are multiple contrast issues across the page. |
| Issue:2 |
PDF documents should have titles that describe the topic or purpose of the page. Titles help users understand the topic without having to read the entire document. Without a descriptive title a user may need to spend time searching the document to decide whether the content is relevant. When a PDF is displayed in a browser the title will usually be displayed in the top title bar or as the tab name. |
The PDF does not contain a document title. |
| Issue:3 |
People with sight loss may not see an image clearly on a page. You need to use a text alternative to share the information. The alternative text must describe the information or function represented by the image. Screen readers can share the alternative text with the user. In PDF documents you must ensure that images are tagged correctly with alternative text. |
Images have been used in the PDF without text alternative. |
Your accessibility statement
As part of the regulations you must publish an accessibility statement.
An accessibility statement for the website was not found.
More information about accessibility statements can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps.
A sample statement can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sample-accessibility-statement.
What to do next
It is a requirement of The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 that public sector websites are accessible.
You should fix the issues that were found and do your own accessibility audit to check for issues that go beyond the scope of simple accessibility testing.
You need to write and publish an accessibility statement that meets the required legislative format.
Enforcement
On behalf of the Minister for the Cabinet Office we provide the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) with details about public sector bodies who have been monitored. If accessibility issues remain after giving you time to fix them, the EHRC may take further action.
Public sector bodies must publish an accessibility statement and review it regularly. If the decision is taken that a public sector body has failed to publish an accessibility statement or that the accessibility statement is incorrect, the Minister for the Cabinet Office may publish the name of the body and a copy of the decision.
The enforcement process can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accessibility-requirements-for-public-sector-websites-and-apps#how-the-accessibility-regulations-will-be-monitored-and-enforced.
Contact and more information
This test was conducted by the Government Digital Service on behalf of the Minister of the Cabinet Office as part of their obligations to monitor the accessibility of public sector websites in the United Kingdom.
As the monitoring body we cannot offer specific advice on approaches or general accessibility queries other than questions directly related to the items in this report.
Any questions about this report can be sent to accessibility-monitoring@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk.
Further information on guidance and tools for digital accessibility can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-and-tools-for-digital-accessibility.
Help with accessibility auditing and publishing an accessibility statement can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/make-your-website-or-app-accessible-and-publish-an-accessibility-statement.