Accessibility statement for EaStCHEM Research School
Website accessibility statement in line with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This accessibility statement applies to: https://www.eastchem.ac.uk/
This website is run by the School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:
- Zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
- Navigate the site using just a keyboard
- There is no need for dragging movements on the site
- Navigate the site using speech recognition software (e.g., Dragon NaturallySpeaking)
- Listen to the site using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, Read&Write, TalkBack and VoiceOver)
- Not encounter any flashing, scrolling or moving text
- Not encounter any time limits
- No information is conveyed by colour
- All non-text content has a text alternative
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording that we could use without changing what the text means.
Customising the website
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:
AbilityNet – My Computer My Way
With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:
Additional information on how to customise our website appearance
If you are a member of University of Edinburgh staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- Customisation in some browsers (Chrome and Edge) is limited
- Reflow to 400% is not possible.
- When magnifying with Ctrl+ there is slight overlap of bottom image with footer from 250%. This overlap of bottom image with footer also occurs on mobile. Increased spacing should be added.
- There are new tabs that open without the user being alerted
- It is not always clear where you have keyboard navigated to
- Not all links have meaningful hypertext
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:
• Email: ChemRS@ed.ac.uk
• Telephone: 0131 650 5858
• British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are 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, please contact:
• Email: ChemRS@ed.ac.uk
• Telephone: 0131 650 5858
• British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:
Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)
The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:
Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website
Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language Service
Contact Scotland BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week.
Contact Scotland BSL service details.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications 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 (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations
The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria:
- Not all content can reflow to 400%
- Not all link text has meaningful hypertext
- It is not always clear where you have navigated to by keyboard
- New browser tabs open without the user being alerted in advance
We aim to improve our website’s accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below (‘What we’re doing to improve accessibility’) on how we are improving our site accessibility.
We are working towards solving these problems and expect several improvements by June 2027. The site is fully within our control.
Disproportionate burden
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
At this time we believe no content is outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to address and make adequate improvements to the accessibility issues highlighted. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by June 2027.
While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 15th June 2026. It was last reviewed on 15th June 2026.
The website was last tested in June 2026. The testing was carried out by the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using Google Chrome alongside Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge.
Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Google Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:
WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey
The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.
We ran automated testing using AXE (Google Chrome extension) and then manual testing that included:
- Spell check functionality;
- Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
- Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc);
- Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
- Data validation;
- Warning of links opening in new tab or window;
- Information conveyed in the colour or sound only;
- Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
- Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS);
- Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
- Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
- Time limits;
- Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS);
- Any drag functionality and alternatives;
- Consistent help function;
- No need to re-enter data already submitted;
- Any cognitive tests.
Change Log
- June 2026 – we have improved the keyboard focus to a bold blue colour which has improved visibility but has only partially resolved the issue