Accessibility Statement

The University of Oxford is committed to providing an accessible web presence that gives members of the public and members of the University community full access to University information, courses and activities offered publicly through the web.

Our Equality Policy outlines our commitment to a culture which ‘maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students are respected’.

Our Aims

This website is run by the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this site, therefore 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 the website using a screen reader
  • option to disable moving content on the home page and the footers
  • option to skip to content, avoiding repetitive navigation traversal

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. In addition, major operating systems produce the following guidance:

How accessible this website is

This website runs on Oxford Mosaic, the University of Oxford’s web platform. Information regarding the accessibility features common to platform sites can be found in the Oxford Mosaic Accessibility Statement

We are working to update some parts of the website that need improvement:

  • On the home page, the specific Call To Action pertaining to “Study at DSPI” is not shown at 400% Zoom
  • On the home page, there are unnecessary WAI-ARIA codes on some third tier headings within tabbed content controls
  • For all pages, there are nested <style> elements nested within <div> elements. In regards to strict HTML validation, the element “style”, is not allowed as child of element div in this context 
  • Embedded YouTube videos make use of obsolete “frameborder” attributes
  • On all pages where breadcrumbs are displayed, there is an incorrect aria-hidden="true status for the first item within the breadcrumbs. In all cases this pertains to the home icon which links back to the website’s home page
  • Some content delivered via accordion controls have incorrect ariaExpanded roles
  • On the contact page, there are unnecessary WAI-ARIA codes on some fourth tier headings 
  • For all pages, there are duplicate labels used on the search input

Reporting issues with website accessibility

If you have any questions or concerns about the accessibility on any of our webpages, please contact communications@spi.ox.ac.uk in the first instance.

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).

Other accessibility resources

If you’d like more information about accessibility and resources for students, staff and visitors in Oxford more generally, please visit University of Oxford Equality and Diversity pages.

If you’re looking for information on building accessibility, please try the Access Guide or the University’s interactive map.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

A Digital Accessibility Working Group has been established to oversee the University’s implementation of the WCAG 2.1 guidelines. The group is working to provide clear guidance, recommendations, expertise and experiential knowledge to departments and colleges in their adoption of inclusive digital practices to meet the requirements of the accessibility regulations. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 7 September 2022. It was last reviewed on that date.