What you need to do or think about:

Accessibility Statement

You need to have an accessibility statement on your area of the website or department vle homepage to explain what is and isn't accessible and who to contact.

Example statement:

The Department of ___________ is committed to providing resources that are digitally accessible to all. We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our resources to meet current guidelines over the next few months. We would be grateful if you could let us know as soon as possible if any of the resources we provide could be made more accessible, and how they could be so, by contacting ________@york.ac.uk. (This should be a department contact.)

Reference: Accessibility statement guidance from gov.uk website

Action plan

• How will you ensure staff are aware of the digital accessibility requirements? (Ensure they complete the digital accessibility tutorial)

• How will they receive the training they need to produce accessible sites and documents? (See Creating Accessible Documents page)

• How will you prioritise what materials need converting?

• Do you want to run a project with help from interns? See Rapid Response Grants page to apply for funding.)

• How will you ensure that materials continue to be made in an accessible way going forward?

• How will you ensure learners know how to use the more accessible formats?

• How will you measure the impact of your efforts?

Read our blog post on Shifting Digital Accessibility practice at the University. Could you use the same model to design and reflect on work at a department level?

Other things to consider:

• News: Keep up with digital accessibility news at http://bit.ly/eaccess-wiki.

• Procurement - Any new service or resource you acquire should meet the new guidelines.

• Recruitment and training - consider how you will upskill staff in the department and how you will introduce new staff to the skills required to create accessible documents and sites. Add this to your action plan.