Accessibility Statement for the Historic England Learning Platform

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• Some elements of the site are difficult for users to access using the keyboard alone
• Some text on the site, including link text, has insufficient contrast, which can make text hard to read and can present an obstacle to navigation
• The training activities lack headings, therefore users reliant on keyboard and/or screen readers may find it harder to navigate or orient themselves within this content.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

• email [email protected]
• call 0370 333 0607
• Between: 09:00 - 17:00 Monday to Friday

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in five working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact customer services on [email protected], who will pass your request on to the appropriate team.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Historic England is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliance and exemptions listed below.

Non accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

The website fails the following Level A and AA criteria:

1.1.1 - Non-text Content

• Icons on calendar events (e.g. Delete, Settings) should be larger so they are easier to see.
• The image below the course title is missing alternative text.
• There are instances of suspicious alt text on some components across the site - alternative text on these components may be ambiguous or non-descriptive, making these items difficult to understand for screen reader users.
• Screen reader users may find that descriptions for groups of checkboxes is absent on some pages, for example on the Update Profile and Create Account pages.

1.3.1 - Info and Relationships

• Some ARIA references on the site, which affect interpretation of non-text content for screen reader users, are misplaced or not attached to anything visible on the screen. Pages which may present this problem include, but are not limited to, the Course Dashboard and My Grades pages.
• Required fields across the site lack screen reader interpretation - users are only made aware that information is missing when moving out of the required field.
• On Course pages, selecting the Skip to Content link should prompt the screen reader to read out everything in the main landmark sequentially. However, the screen reader only reads out up to part-way through the second sentence of the summary.
• Learning packages lack headings, meaning users reliant on the keyboard and/or screen reader will not be able to easily navigate through or orient themselves within content.

1.4.12 - Text Spacing

• Altering the text in browser settings causes the breadcrumb navigation to be partially obscured. In addition, only some of the text on the page is altered; the course descriptions remain the same size.
• Resizing the text in browser does not work on Carousel subtext and partially obscures page title.

1.4.3 - Contrast (Minimum)

• Multitude of contrast errors present. Some examples of the contrast issues present are on the blue text against the grey background, dates on the calendars and within the breadcrumb trail.

2.1.1 - Keyboard

• When selecting a subsection, the popup is only visible for a moment when using keyboard.
• The user is unable to access the close button on any of the subsection popups.

2.4.1 - Bypass Blocks

• The ‘Skip to Content’ link presents a variety of minor problems on all pages. On most pages, the user may be taken too far down the page when the link is selected but will have no other issues navigating through the content. The Skip to Content link is unavailable on some pages, and on others the link may be incorrectly placed in the page contents, meaning it will not be immediately accessible when navigating into the page for the first time.
• In some cases, the screen reader may read out the ‘Skip To Content’ link, but it may not be visible - the link is however still functioning.
• A ‘Skip to Create New Account’ link on the login screen is accessible and interpreted by screen readers but is not visible on the page.

2.4.2 - Page Titled

• Four pages in the site lack a title - the Courses page, Help page, Individual Course pages and Login screen.

2.4.3 - Focus Order

• The focus order of content on some pages (for instance, the Individual Course pages) does not match the way the page is presented visually. This may present navigation difficulties for keyboard users.
• The ‘Star this course' option button on every Individual Course page is focusable before the breadcrumb trail - it should be given focus after the Course Dashboard button.

2.4.4 - Link Purpose (In Context)

• A focusable ‘link’ with no URL attached is present under 'My Grades' in Course Dashboard popup window. This is present on several pages and may cause issues for screen reader users.

2.4.5 - Multiple Ways

• Users may find it challenging to return to the Individual Course Page from the learning package after completing a course - the method for closing the learning package is instead communicated on the Individual Course Page.

2.4.6 - Headings and Labels

• A heading in the footer of every page in the site has no text saved within it - screen readers will register the heading, but no text will be read out. An additional empty heading is present above the title on the Home Page.
• Skipped heading levels occur on multiple pages; users reliant on keyboard and screen reader for navigation may find the absence of chronological headings disorienting.

2.4.7 - Focus Visible

• Keyboard focus is not visible on some key elements across the site, including dates on the calendar, the green ‘Course Dashboard’ popup button, Course Page and Help Page section tiles, and a link to the survey on the Questionnaire page.

2.5.3 - Label in Name

• ‘Delete' and 'Edit' icons on Calendar events have screen reader labels which are inconsistent with the way the icons are labelled visually, which may be mildly confusing.
• Screen reader labels for all drop-down menus are convoluted and do not match their visual counterparts on screen - for example, the course filter dropdown is not called 'Filter by Course Type', nor does it read out what filter is applied when the user focuses on the collapsed menu.

3.2.3 - Consistent Navigation

• All mobile devices - The links which appear in the header on desktop devices (Help, etc.) actually appear in the footer on mobile, which may disorient some users.

3.2.4 - Consistent Identification

• The title of the My Grades and Issued Certificates page does not match the title given to it in the page’s breadcrumb navigation.

3.3.2 - Labels or Instructions

• A form field is missing a label on the Interests subsection of the Edit Profile Page.
• A drop-down is missing a label on the ‘Search Area’ section of the Search Page.

4.1.1 - Parsing

• Parsing errors were found across all pages of the site.

4.1.2 - Name, Role, Value

• The 'Expand All/Collapse All' button on the Edit Profile Page is not interpreted as expanded or collapsed when the user selects it.

4.1.3 - Status Message

• When the user updates their profile, no message is communicated to the user to show that their updates have been saved.

Disproportionate Burden

Historic England uses the learning platform developed by Titus Learning Ltd. which is based on version 3 of the Moodle platform. Moodle and Titus are both committed to accessiblity and are working to ensure compliance with the W3C WCAG AA standard with version 4 of their platform. 

Version 4 is expected later in 2023. When this is released Historic England will migrate our learning offer to the latest, and most accessible version.

With a compliant version coming later this year, moving to an alternative learning platform at this time would take longer, and require greater effort and funds, than migrating to version 4. 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

It is Historic England’s intention for https://training.historicengland.org.uk/ to become compliant. Towards this aim we will be focusing on working with Titus Learning Ltd., the supplier of our learning platform.

Titus endeavour to create accessible and inclusive products and aim to be compliant against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard. 

Titus' learning platform is built on version 3 of the Moodle platform. Moodle are working to make version 4 compatible with WCAG AA and Titus is working to migrate their platform to version 4. As Moodle release new updates to version 4, Titus will apply compatibility to their system.

This cycle will continue throughout 2023 until Moodle and Titus achieve the WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. Once that is available Historic England plan to migrate to the newer, more accessible version.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 24 April 2023. It was last reviewed on 24 April 2023.

This website was last tested on 17 April 2023. The test was carried out by Historic England. An example of every unique template which forms part of the public facing application was tested.