Accessibility 

Acorns take accessibility very seriously and are therefore committed to making our website usable by all people, no matter their abilities or disabilities. As you will know, Acorns is a hospice that works with a lot of children with accessibility issues, which is why we believe it is so important to make our website inclusive.

In this statement, you will find information about web accessibility and the steps we have taken to create a user friendly website for all. We have also included information on how users can customise their browsing experience, in order to make our website more accessible and enjoyable to use. 

Equality Act 2010 and Accessibility guidelines 

According to the Equality Act 2010, no user should be excluded from being able to view and use a website. Here at Acorns, we work hard to ensure our website abides to the Equality Act 2010 and follows guidelines specified by organisations like RBIN and W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, which include:

• Using ALT Tags – We use ALT tags for all images to provide descriptive text for visually impaired users using computer aids. Their computer aids are capable of reading the description to them, so they can understand the pictures on our website and any related text.

• Using descriptive hyperlink text – Acorns has created descriptive links to provide users with the proper context of where clicking the link will take them too. The descriptions will make sense to people using screen readers and allow them to fully understand what they are clicking on.

• Not using frames – Frames can present additional usability challenges for those with disabilities, which is why we have chosen not to use them as part of our web design.

• Using an easy-to-see web colour scheme and fonts – Acorns has a high contrast colour scheme that we believe is accessible to all users. We have made every effort to ensure the font types; size and colour on our website are easy to read too.

• Navigational shortcuts – These are designed for users of text only browsers and page readers, both of which the Acorns website is fully compatible with. Our navigational shortcuts are as follows:
  • 1 – Homepage
  • 2 – Use our site search
  • 3 – Contact Acorns

To use the access keys, simply press the Alt key and relevant key on your keyboard. Press Enter to open the new page. 

Accessibility features

We aim to continually improve the Acorns website to make it more accessible to users. Our experienced web development team help us to offer users a host of accessibility features. Some of these features include: text only, Google Translate and text size. Below we’ve explained them in a little bit more detail for those wishing to customise their user experience on the Acorns website.

Text Only – We have created a text only version of our website, which is accessible and beneficial for those using screen readers. Our text only version is also beneficial for those with slow internet connections.

Google Translate – Acorns uses Google Translate to ensure the information provided on our website can be translated into other languages. Please keep in mind that Google Translate is an automated service and therefore may contain errors. Google Translate should only be used as a rough guide and Acorns cannot accept liability for any inaccurate translations on our website.

Text size – Our website has been designed with what we believe is the optimal text size for all, however if you would like to change the text size displayed, you can change the option in your web browser. To do this:

• Go to your browser tools menu and select Internet Options
• Click on the General Tab and select Accessibility
• Tick the box that says ‘Ignore font sizes specified on web pages’ and click OK
• Re-visit your browser menu and select view
• Click on text size and choose your preferred text size 

Providing feedback

Acorns has made every effort to ensure this website is completely accessible to all users, however if you find anything on the site difficult to use, please feel free to get in touch. We welcome constructive feedback regarding the accessibility of our website, as it helps us to make positive changes that result in a better user experience for all.