Accessibility Help 
Accessibility Help
Commitment to accessibility
We hope this page helps you to get more out of our website. We have followed the guidelines listed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to ensure that the HTML code employed makes it easy to use speech-output and other assistive technology.
Online Forms
All forms on this site have been carefully designed and tested for accessibility and use. We have tried to ensure that all forms are accommodating, regardless of the platform, connectivity or ability.
Downloading Documents
Every effort has been made to ensure that files on this site are available and accessible in HTML format. However, from time to time larger files may require other formats such as Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format). Click here to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Note: Users with visual difficulties may find it helpful to click here to access services provided to improve the accessibility of Acrobat documents.
Colours
Every effort has been made to use colours on this website that allow for maximum contrast between foreground and background items as well as various features including headers, body text and hyperlinks.
Images and ALT Tag
We have used images throughout this web site to add variety and add interest. So that the images load as quickly as possible, their file sizes have been kept to a minimum. Each image is accompanied by an Alternative Text or "ALT" tag which provides a description of an image or a function. ALT tags are accessed by placing your mouse over the image.
Help for Internet Explorer Users
For users who prefer or are required to use a keyboard we recommend the use of Mozilla Firefox (please see below).
To permanently apply font and colour changes
- Select 'Internet Options' from the Tools or View menu (depending on your browser version)
- On the 'General' tab, select 'Accessibility'
- Check all three boxes to show ticks under Formatting
- Click on 'OK'
To change text and background colour
- Select 'Internet Options' from the Tools or View menu (depending on your browser version)
- On the 'General' tab, select 'Colour' deselect the 'Use Windows Colours' tick box
- To modify the colour of text, Select the box next to 'Text' and choose your colour from the palette and click on 'OK'
- To modify the background, select the box next to 'Background' choose your colour from the palette and click on 'OK'
- Click on 'OK' again to close Internet Options
Changing text font
- Select 'Internet Options' from the Tools or View menu (depending on your browser version)
- On the 'General' tab select 'Accessibility' and check the box under Formatting 'Ignore font styles specified on Web pages'
- Click on 'OK'
- Click on the Fonts button
- Choose your font from the drop-down menu under 'Web page font'
- Click on 'OK'
- Click on 'OK' again to close Internet Options
Changing the size of the text
- Select Internet Options from the Tools or View menu (depending on your browser version)
- On the 'General' tab select 'Accessibility' and check the box under Formatting 'Ignore font sizes specified on web pages'
- Click on 'OK'
- Click 'OK' again to close Internet Options
- On the browser menu select 'view'
- Click 'text size' option
- Choose your preferred text size
Note: If you require further information it may find it helpful to visit the Microsoft Help and Support site.
To change the colour of links displayed on a screen
- Select 'Internet Options' from the Tools or View menu (depending on your browser version)
- On the 'General' tab, select 'Accessibility' and check the box under formatting 'Ignore colours specified on Web pages'
- Click on 'OK'
- Click on 'OK' again to close Internet Options
Using your own style sheet
Our website uses a style sheet but you may wish to use your own. To do this, you must:
- Select Internet Options from the Tools or View menu (depending on your browser version)
- On the 'General' tab select 'Accessibility' and check the box under User Style sheet 'Format documents using my style sheet'
- Click on Browse to select your style sheet
- Select your style sheet
- Click on 'OK'
- Click on 'OK' again to close Internet Options
To change the size of the window
- On the browser View menu select 'Full screen' or press F11
Zooming in and out of the page
There are two different ways of doing this - We can either use a mouse that has a scroll wheel or use the keyboard.
- Keyboard: We press and hold 'Ctrl'
- To zoom in press '+' key as many time as you wish to zoom in
- To zoom out press '-' key as many time as you wish to zoom out
- Scroll wheel mouse: We press and hold 'Ctrl'
- To zoom in we scroll up
- To zoom out we scoll down
To prevent graphics and images appearing
- Select 'Internet Options' from the Tools or View menu (depending on your browser version)
- Click on the 'Advanced' tab at the top right hand side corner of the window
- Scroll down to the Multimedia heading
- Deselect the graphics options 'Play animations in webpages' and 'Show pictures' by unchecking on the boxes to remove the ticks
- Click on 'Apply' then 'OK'
Other options
Other options to help enhance the visibility can also be found under the 'Advanced' tab
- Selecting 'Internet Options' from the Tools or View menu (depending on your browser version)
- Click on the 'Advanced' tab at the top right hand side corner of the window
- Select and deselect as appropriate
Help for Mozilla Firefox Users
Tab key
For users who prefer or are required to use a keyboard the TAB key will allow you to naviagate across the links which are conveniently highlighted.
To change the size of the window
- On the browser View menu select 'Full screen' or press F11
Zooming in and out of the page
Firefox allows the user to zoom in and out of the whole page but also allows the users to only zoom in and out of the text. There are three different ways of doing this: We can either use a mouse that has a scroll wheel, use the keyboard or the 'View' tab.
- To apply zoom text:
- Select 'Zoom' from the 'View' menu (depending on your browser version)
- Select 'Zoom Text Only'
- Keyboard: We press and hold 'Ctrl'
- To zoom in press '+' key as many time as you wish to zoom in
- To zoom out press '-' key as many time as you wish to zoom out
- Scroll wheel mouse: We press and hold 'Ctrl'
- To zoom in we scroll up
- To zoom out we scoll down
Other Browsers
There are options to change the way pages are displayed on other browsers. Please refer to your browser's information sectionor help for details. If you have any queries please contact us.
Accessing this Website without a Mouse
Keyboard shortcuts and jumps are intended to help website users who have difficulties with motor skill and using pointing devices such as a mouse or only have a keyboard. Access keys shortcuts give the users a swift and convenient way to immediately navigate to a specific part of the website.
| Access keys | Functions |
|---|---|
| 0 | Access Keys |
| S | Skip Navigation |
| 1 | Home |
| 3 | Site Map |
| 5 | Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |
| 6 | Contact Us |
| 8 | Terms & Conditions |
How to Use Access Keys
| Browser type | What to press on the keyboard |
|---|---|
| Internet Explorer 4 (PC) | Press and hold down the ALT key, then press the access key |
| Internet Explorer 4.5 (MAC) | Access keys are not supported |
| Internet Explorer 5+ (PC) | Press and hold down the ALT key, press the number of the access key, release both keys then press ENTER |
| Internet Explorer 5+ (Mac) | Press and hold down the CTRL key and press the number of the access key |
| Mozilla Firefox 1.5 (PC) | Press and hold down the ALT key, then press the access key |
| Mozilla Firefox 1.5 (MAC) | Press and hold down the CTRL key, then press the access key |
| Mozilla Firefox 2+ (PC and MAC) | Press and Hold down the SHIFT key and the ALT key, then press the access key |
| Safari | Press and hold down the CTRL key and press the number of the access key |
| Opera | Press and hold down the SHIFT and the ESC key, this will reveal a complete list of access keys |