Contents

Summary

A standard for ensuring accessibility of departmental websites and mobile apps, aimed at user-centred design teams, product and delivery managers, and service owners.

WarningYou are breaking the law if you do not meet this standard.

Categories

The categories applicable to this standard are:

User-Centred Design and Accessibility
  • Accessibility

Purpose

Not all DfE's websites have an accurate accessibility statement and those that do, do not often declare the correct level of conformance, do not always contain the legally required wording, and do not always list all known accessibility issues.

This means end users may struggle to get the support or information they need if they face an issue using the website.

This supports the legal requirement for websites and applications to publish a factually accurate accessibility statement as outlined by the Public Sector Websites and Applications Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This specific standard ensures it is applied, assured, and monitored effectively in DfE.

How to meet this standard

You will meet this standard when:

You have published a legally compliant, accurate accessibility statement for your product or website.

To meet this standard, you must:

Identify issues

You need to test your product and website and identify any issues.

You can identify issues by:

  • testing you've carried out
  • getting feedback from users
  • carrying out third-party or internal accessibility audits
  • using automated testing tools

You should follow the managing issues guidance for good practice on identifying, tracking, and managing accessibility issues in your product or website.

Write your accessibility statement

Statements contain legally-required wording, so it's important you use the correct statement for your website.

We have created templates to help you write your statement.

Declare conformance and compliance

You must declare the level of conformance you have achieved with the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.2.

We aim to meet Level AA as a minimum. Unless you have a reason to meet Level AAA, we do not expect teams in DfE to meet this level.

Detail accessibility issues

The statement must include details of all known WCAG criteria failures you have identified.

Mitigation and resolution actions

You must state clearly what actions you're taking to mitigate or resolve any accessibility issues. Include any expected timelines for resolution.

This provides users with assurance that their concerns are being actively addressed and that improvements are being made to enhance their user experience.

Contact information

Provide contact information for users to report accessibility issues. This could be an email address, phone number, or a link to an online form.

Publish your statement

Once you have written your statement, you must make it available to users before they start using your website or app.

Publishing for a website

You must link to the statement from the footer of every page on the website. The link text for the statement must say "Accessibility".

Publishing for an app

You must link to the statement from the app store listing description. The link text for the statement must say "Accessibility statement".

Keep your statement updated

It's important to keep your statement up-to-date. You should review and update it whenever:

  • you carry out accessibility testing or have an audit
  • you identify new accessibility issues
  • you resolve existing accessibility issues
  • the legislation or mandatory content changes

Review your statement annually

The accessibility statement must be reviewed and updated at least every 12 months, even if no interim testing or audits happen.

This regular review process shows ongoing compliance with accessibility standards. It also demonstrates a commitment to maintaining an accessible digital product for all users.

When to meet this standard

You are required to meet this standard at the following phases of delivery.

  • Private beta
  • Public beta
  • Live

Declaring conformance with this standard

Conformance with the standard must be recorded every 12 months.

Owner and contacts

Standard owner
Andy Jones
Head of Profession - Design
Other point of contact
Jake Lloyd
Senior Accessibility Specialist