Accessibility

LSN takes accessibility issues seriously. Our website meets government standards for accessibility and it adheres to the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Websites can often include quite small text that most people would find difficult to read.

For some people with vision impairment, the average text size used on most websites is too small to read easily. There are various tools within your web browser which allow you to:

  • Adjust the colours on the screen to a higher contrast (for low vision users)
  • Text size adjustment (to increase the default text size)


Adjusting Text Size

Some people might find the screen text easier to read by increasing the size which text is displayed for all websites. To do this you should adjust your browser"s settings.

  • Internet Explorer
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Opera
  • Safari

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

  • Open the " View " menu with the mouse or by pressing " Alt"+"V ".
  • Select the " Text Size " option with the mouse or by pressing " X ".
  • Choose your preferred text size with the mouse or by using the up and down arrow keys and pressing " Enter " or by clicking on it.
  • The text on our website should now have changed to reflect your choice.


Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and 8

For the first time in Internet Explorer a zoom feature is included which allows you to enlarge the whole browser window.
  • To do this press " Ctrl " + " + " to increase the zoom and " Ctrl " + " - " to decrease the zoom.

Alternatively you can also change the text size by:

  • Open the " Page " menu with the mouse or by pressing " Alt " + " P ".
  • Select the " Text Size " option with the mouse or by pressing " X ".
  • Choose your preferred text size by clicking on it or by using the up and down arrow keys to select it and then press " Enter ".

For more information visit the Microsoft help and support site

Firefox 1.5 and 2

  • Open the " View " menu with the mouse or by pressing " Alt " and " V " at the same time.
  • Select the " Text Size " option with the mouse or by pressing "Z".
  • Increase or decrease the text size with the mouse or by using the up and down arrow keys and pressing " Enter ".
  • Alternatively you can press " Ctrl " and " + " to increase the text size, " Ctrl " and " - " to decrease the text size. " Ctrl " and " 0 " returns you to the default "normal" size.

Firefox 3 +

For the first time in Firefox a zoom feature is included which allows you to enlarge the whole browser window.

  • Press " Ctrl " and " + " to increase the text size, " Ctrl " and " - " to decrease the text size. " Ctrl " and " 0 " returns you to the default "normal" size.

For more information, Firefox publishes detailed information on how to adjust the display of their browser on their website.

Chrome

  • Click the  " Control the current page " button.
  • Select  " Text Zoom ".
  • Select  " Larger ", " Smaller ", or " Normal "  to make text the default size.
  • Alternatively you can press " Ctrl " and " + " to increase the text size, " Ctrl " and " - " to decrease the text size. "Ctrl " and " 0 " returns you to the default "normal" size.


Opera

Opera can increase the size of images as well as text. You can quickly increase or decrease the size of both text and graphics using the keyboard
  • Press " + " (in some versions you might need to press the " Shift " key as well) to increase size and the " - " to decrease text size.
  • Each press will increase or decrease the size by 10%.
  • Alternatively press "Alt " + " V " to bring up the view menu and then press " Z " to bring up the zoom options then use the up and down arrow keys to select the option you want followed by "Enter" .


Safari

  • Click on the " View " menu with the mouse.
  • Click on " Make Text Bigger" or Make Text Smaller to change the font size.
  • Alternatively use keyboard shortcuts: Increase or decrease the text size with " "Ctrl " and " +" (plus) and " "Ctrl " and " - " (minus).


Changing background colour

If you wish to change the background colour of pages:

  • Click Tools in the toolbar at the top and select Internet Options
  • Select the General tab and click the Accessibility button
  • Select the box next to Ignore colors specified by web pages and click OK
  • Click Colors (a menu of colours should appear). Select your preferred background colour then click OK.
  • Select the Accessibility option. (4 tick boxes will appear). Tick the three boxes listed under the Formatting heading and click OK
  • Click OK to confirm the new settings.


PDFs and accessibility

To read PDF documents with a screen reader please visit the Access Adobe website which provides useful tools and resources. Adobe also has a free online conversion tool for PDFs
Documents marked .PDF are saved in Portable Document Format. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view all PDF files. The Acrobat Reader software is available for downloading free of charge from the Adobe website. The free Reader allows you to view, navigate, and print PDF files across all major computing platforms. For more information on how to download the Reader, go to our Adobe Acrobat help page.
Adobe's accessibility website is full of information on the features and capabilities of Adobe products that enhance electronic document accessibility for people with disabilities such as blindness, low vision, and motor impairments.

Further information

To find out more about accessibility and the web visit www.rnib.org.uk.

Obtaining LSN publications in an alternative format

LSN is committed to providing materials that are accessible to everyone. If you require any of LSN’s materials in an alternative format please contact the LSN Marketing team:
T: 020 7492 5000
E: enquiries@lsnlearning.org.uk

Please allow between 2 – 3 weeks for production of alternative formats and provide the following information:

  • Alternative format specifications - the exact information required and the preferred alternative format
  • How the alternative format should be delivered - by post, fax or email
  • Full contact details – for queries and final delivery of alternative format.


Accessible technology

There are numerous computer products designed to make computers and software easier to use for disabled people, including screen reading software, larger keyboards and more. If you find a computer difficult to use, you may find some helpful information at the Direct Gov website.

Technical information about accessibility on LSN

LSN an accessible website we have made specific decisions about the technology we have used. All pages of this website should be valid XHTML 1.0 Strict and use CSS for layout and colours. Where JavaScript has been used, we have tried to ensure that this does not affect the functionality of the website, so that it is useable if you do not have JavaScript enabled.

If you are still having problems using the LSN website

Everyone using LSN has different needs, and we are committed to ensuring that everyone can access and use the website. If you've tried the steps above and are still encountering problems with the site, we would like to hear from you. To contact us, please use our Contact Us page, with details of the problems you have encountered, and your preferred method of contact.

 

Copyright | Terms and conditions | Accessibility | Environmental policy | Site map | Privacy | LSDA Northern Ireland