Accessibility information and help
Somerset County Council is committed to providing websites that are accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of ability or technology and including those who have visual, hearing, motor and cognitive impairments. To achieve this, this site has been built to comply with level AA from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The following information details how to use this site and what measures we have put in place to make it accessible to the widest possible audience.
Access Keys
Access keys can be used on this site to skip directly to the important content from any page. The following UK government standard access keys are in place throughout this site:
S - Skip navigation - jumps directly to the start of the page content
1 - Home page
2 - News and events
3 - Site map
5 - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
8 - Terms and Conditions
9 - Contact details
0 - Accessibility information and Access Key details (this page)
Access keys work differently in different browsers. Below is a list of popular browsers supported by this site and how to use access keys in each:
Windows PC
Internet Explorer - Hold down the 'Alt' key and press the Access Key you require. This move the focus to the correct link, then press the 'Enter' key.
Firefox - Hold down the 'Alt' and 'Shift' keys and press the Access Key you require.
Google Chrome - Hold down the 'Alt' key and press the Access Key you require.
Apple mac
Safari and Google Chrome - Hold down the 'Ctrl' and 'Alt' keys and press the Access Key you require.
Firefox(Mac) - Hold down the 'Ctrl' key and press the Access Key you require.
Enlarging site content
Most browsers include controls to make the text or entire site larger making it easier to read for visually impaired users. Below is a list of popular browsers supported by this site and how to enlarge and decrease the site content in each:
Windows PC - Hold down the 'Ctrl' key and use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad. The following browsers support this method: Internet Explorer 7+, Firefox, Google Chrome
Apple Mac - Hold down the 'Apple' key and use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad. The following browsers support this method: Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome
Overriding layout and colour information
The layout, colours and any decorative graphical elements used in this site are controlled by stylesheets. By controlling the content in this way users can disable the style sheets to view the basic site content. All content is designed to work and display in a useable way when style sheets are disabled, defaulting the text content to black on a white background.
Most browsers allow users to apply there own custom settings and/or style sheets to pages. All pages in this site work with custom stylesheets. For more information on applying your own stylesheets please refer to your browsers help files.
Supporting assistive technologies such as screen readers
We have put a lot of thought into the structure of the pages on this site to make them easily readable by common screen readers such as Jaws and WindowEyes. Measures implemented in this site include; written descriptions for all images, page text hierarchy correctly marked up, all menus included as lists, tables are not used for layout purposes, all form elements are labeled and all text links make sense when taken out of context.
Contacting us
If you are having trouble using this site or have any questions regarding accessibility issues please contact us at childrens@somerset.gov.uk.