Accessibility

Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to Forth Valley College’s website.

This website is run by Forth Valley College. 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 and added an accessibility tool to support those using our page. ReciteMe is a web accessibility solution allowing you to customise our website how you need it to work for you. Easy to use, this software includes text-to-speech functionality, dyslexia software, an interactive dictionary, a translation tool with over 100 languages and many other features.  The shortcut for ReciteMe is at the top of all web pages.  Click here to read more about Recite Me. 

AbilityNet also has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. AbilityNet is a UK charity that exists to change the lives of disabled people by helping them to use digital technology at work, at home or in education.

How accessible is our website?

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. We are aware of the following and aim to improve our website accessibility over the next academic session:

  • Our website does not always work well with a screen reader
  • Some of the documents on our website are not in in an accessible format
  • Contrast ratios are not always optimum for users
  • Some of the elements of the website do not work as they should for keyboard-only users
  • All of our videos do not have captions

What if you cannot access part of our website?

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

    • Forth Valley College, Falkirk Campus, Grangemouth Road, Falkirk, FK2 9AD
    • Stirling Campus, Drip Road, Stirling, FK8 1RD
    • Alloa Campus, Devon Road, Alloa, FK10 1PX

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

If you cannot view the map on our contact us page, call us on 01324 403000 or email us at info@forthvalley.ac.uk for directions.

How do I report accessibility problems?

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, call 01324 403000 or email accessibility@forthvalley.ac.uk

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).

Contacting Us

We are happy to accept calls using the video relay service ContactSCOTLAND-BSL for people who are d/Deaf and British Sign Language users.

Our offices and classrooms have fixed or portable audio induction loops or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

You can e-mail us at accessibility@forthvalley.ac.uk or telephone us on 01324 403000. 

Technical Information

Forth Valley College 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 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

What content is not accessible?

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

  • The website does not currently make use of skip links
  • Links, buttons and form and interactive elements require focus states
  • Form elements require an associated label
  • Form validation needs to be more visible
  • Language tags are required
  • Associated text labels are required for image blocks
  • All links are currently not underlined and can be misunderstood by screen readers out of context
  • Icons are not currently hidden from screen readers
  • H1 tags are currently not visible on every page
  • Semantic heading structures do not always allow screen readers to jump through content
  • Semantic mark ups for social media links need corrected
  • Button styling for instruction links need to be visibly highlighted
  • All images do not have appropriate resize crop and alt text

What are we doing to improve accessibility?

The website was last tested in March 2020. The test was carried out by Frame, our website designer, using a variety of techniques. We are committed to ensuring that our website is accessible and will be working on improving our accessibility over the next academic session.

This statement was prepared on 23rd September 2020. It was last reviewed on 23rd September 2020.