Accessibility

We want to make sure that everyone is able to access the information we provide and communicate with us in ways that meet their individual needs.

Website accessibility 

Our website is built to meet W3C AA standards for accessibility.

Clear labelling

We use clear labels so visitors know where a link or button is taking them and the type and size of documents they are downloading. We have also used a clear design that takes account of people with visual impairments.

Plain language

We've attempted to use plain English throughout the site to make the information easy to understand.

Translation

At the top of each page of our website is a tool which will translate the content of the page into various different languages. Click the tool to display a list of languages you can select.

Alt Text

Images on our website containt Alt text. Alt text (alternative text) is a brief description of an image that is used by screen readers to help visually impaired users understand the content of the image. It also appears in place of an image if the image fails to load.

Text size

If you need to change the size of the text on our website, you can do this by changing your internet settings in the top right hand corner. 

Magnify the screen

If increasing the text size doesn't make the text easy to see, you could try magnifying your screen. Most computer operating systems allow you to do this.

Select one of the options below to find out how to magnify your screen.

Windows

Select the Start button, then 'Control Panel', then 'Ease of Access', then 'Ease of Access Center'.

Under 'Quick Access to common tools' select 'Start Magnifier'.

Windows XP/95/98/200/Millennium Edition

Select the 'Start' button or press the Windows logo key.

Select 'Programs' then press 'Enter', select 'Accessories' then press 'Enter', select 'Accessibility' then press 'Enter', select 'Magnifier' then press 'Enter'.

The magnifier will now be turned on and the settings box will display.

You can click in the magnification level box to change the level of magnification, or use the up and down arrow keys.

You can also minimise the magnifier settings box by clicking the minimise button or by pressing 'Alt' and 'Space', then pressing 'N'.

Mac OS

Open the 'Finder' then select the 'Apple' menu, select 'System Preferences...', select the 'Universal Access' icon.

Select the 'Seeing' tab then select the 'Turn on Zoom' button.

To zoom in press 'Alt' and 'Cmd' and '+'. This zooms to your maximum level of magnification set in 'Zoom Options...'. The preview rectangle (black bordered box) shows the area of the screen that you will see at maximum zoom.

To step back or zoom out press 'Alt' and 'Cmd' and '–'. Move your mouse around the screen to view the magnified page.

To change the maximum and minimum zoom settings select 'Zoom Options...', then:

use the 'Maximum Zoom' gauge bar to increase or decrease the magnification level.
use the 'Minimum Zoom' gauge bar to increase or decrease the magnification level.
When you have finished select 'Done' and, finally, select 'Close' (red button at the top of the 'Universal Access' window) to return to the Finder desktop.

To turn magnification on or off at any time, press 'Alt' and 'Cmd' and '*'.

Colour

We don't use colour alone to convey vital information.

Information relating to a specific locality is colour coded to differentiate between our three boroughs:

  • Oldham content is green
  • Rochdale content is turqoise
  • Tameside content is orange

Images

All relevant images have alternative text descriptions explaining what the image is about. This description will be read out by screen readers and will be displayed if you hover your cursor over the image.

If the image is complex and cannot be described in just a few words, there will be a link below the image to another page with the full text alternative.

External links

All links to other websites will open up a new browser window.

If you want to return to our website after following an external link, you just need to close the new browser window.

Navigating our site without a mouse

  • You can use the 'arrow' keys to scroll up and down a page.
  • You can use the space bar to move down and 'shift' and 'space bar' to move up pages.
  • You can use the 'tab' key to move from one link to the next, in sequence, then press the 'return/enter' key to select the link.
  • You can use the 'backspace' key to go back to the previous page.

Software to read words out loud

'Browsealoud' is a computer program that helps people who have difficulty reading by reading out the words on a website. You can download Browsealoud for free by clicking on the link below. It may take a few minutes to download.

After you have downloaded and installed Browsealoud on your computer, go back to our website and move your mouse pointer over the words. You will see that the words are now highlighted in yellow. Leave your mouse pointing at the words and the Browsealoud voice will read them out to you.