Submitted by Sarah Botterill on Sat, 08/05/2021 - 18:04
National Volunteers' Week is 1 - 7 June 2021. We'd like to take the opportunity to say a huge "thank you" to the volunteers without who we couldn't provide support to thousands of older and disabled people every year.
Here, Sarah Brain who manages our volunteers shares a letter thanking them.
These 300+ volunteers make a difference to all of us at AbilityNet and, more importantly, impact the lives of thousands of individuals each year.
I am writing this letter to you to celebrate Volunteer's Week 2021, to say a heartfelt “thank you” to every single person who volunteers for AbilityNet.
We have over 300 volunteers who provide support with technology to older and disabled people to help them use technology.
This service is FREE as part of our charitable or public benefit work and without you, we couldn’t do it.
During a time of Covid-19, you helped 3,541 individuals, delivering over 11,700 hours of free technology support.
This included people with mobility, hearing and speech, vision and colour, learning and memory impairments. It also included people with neurodiverse needs.
I know what you do is not only about technology. It empowers people to live better lives or as a volunteer said recently “I help people keep being ‘me’”.
Your help means that the people we support feel more confident using technology, and to manage their daily lives better. Just one example is a client who said:
“Dave my local volunteer was an invaluable help. [I am] feeling a lot more confident now knowing that AbilityNet can lend support. Thank you so much.”
Our clients also feel less stressed and less isolated, more independent and better able to participate in new activities.
These statistics capture some of the story but not the passion that you all bring every day. It’s a pleasure to work alongside all of you.
BT at cost broadband for people on Universal Credit
Submitted by Sarah Botterill on Wed, 05/05/2021 - 17:23
People receiving Universal Credit can get cheaper access to fibre broadband from June through BT’s Home Essentials broadband service.
The service will be available exclusively to people on Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits.
Those who are eligible for Home Essentials will be able to access broadband with download speeds of 36Mbps and 700 minutes of calls for £15 per month, which BT claims are a saving of up to £240 per year.
Who might benefit from means-tested broadband?
According to government statistics, over 6 million people claim universal credit as of January 2021, a significant increase of 98% since March 2020.
Disabled people are less likely to be in work than non-disabled people and so more likely to be eligible for BT Essentials. Disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people, according to Scope.
Scope research also reveals the cost of living for disabled people is on average £583 a month more if you're disabled.
Over half of disabled people aged 16 to 64 years (52.1%) in the UK were in employment compared with around 8 in 10 (81.3%) for non-disabled people (July - Sept 2020); disabled people with autism were among those disabled people with the lowest employment rate, according to the Office of National Statistics.
BT research claims that broadband access is important to the financial well-being of Brits. Three quarters (74%) of Brits would not find it easy to improve their financial situation without connectivity. The majority (79%) of financially vulnerable people rely on broadband connectivity to manage household finances.
Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer division, said, “Fast, reliable connectivity has never been as important as it is today, with millions of people relying upon our networks to get back on their feet after the pandemic.”
During the pandemic, broadband access has also been vital to keeping people in touch.
Many initiatives during and prompted by Covid-19 have focussed on supplying tech equipment to people in need. One notable example is the DCMS scheme designed to assist people with Learning Disabilities.
We’ve also helped support a free tablet roll-out for people with mental health issues in partnership with the NHS and Tech4Good winner Jangala to provide low-cost connectivity.
Submitted by Robin Christopherson on Tue, 04/05/2021 - 14:37
Version 1.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) launched on May 6, 1999. We review how they've impacted digital accessibility and why?
W3C publishes the WCAG - one of the reasons they've become the de facto world standards for all things web (and soon mobile) and why they've proved to be such a game-changer terms of accessibility.
The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) part of W3C maintains WCAG.
Why is it essential to have accessibility standards
Clearly defined guidelines, published and updated by the W3C and incorporated into local legislation worldwide, means that digital developers and designers know how to ensure the accessibility of their products, and we can hold them to account when they fall short.
As the Abstract for version 1.0 of WCAG reads: “These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities. The guidelines are intended for all web content developers… The primary goal of these guidelines is to promote accessibility. However, following them will also make Web content more available to all users.”
Accessibility goes to the heart of the web’s raison d’être in that “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect,” as Tim Berners Lee famously said.
That means everyone, regardless of ability - including visually impaired people like myself - can access the content on the worldwide web.
What is the role of WCAG in driving web accessibility?
The first version of the guidelines outlined the types of challenges people using your website might experience, including:
They may not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all.
They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text.
They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse.
They may have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection.
They may not speak or understand fluently the language in which the document is written.
Guidance addressing these needs was divided into prioritised criteria, with related checkpoints organised around specific priority areas.
Notably, WCAG 1.0 set out a requirement for non-text elements such as images to have "a text equivalent" via alt or long description, essentially alt text. Therefore when I'm accessing something with a screen reader, it can read out the description.
Other priorities included making sure information conveyed through colour could also be understood without it.
WCAG 2.0 continued its focus on making web content accessible to people with visual impairments. There was a specific focus on screen reader compatibility.
Fast forward a few years, and screen readers have morphed from separate assistive technology to being part and parcel of the devices we all use today. Apple's iOS, for example, includes VoiceOver, which can read to me what's displayed on the screen.
But the content only works if the people who’ve designed it adhere to the guidelines.
Too often, I'm confronted by "unlabelled” buttons or other controls that, with the help of a sighted person, reveal themselves to be vital components such as the checkout basket or selector to choose your preferred method of payment.
Poorly designed websites of apps make simple tasks laborious.
I can be scrolling through multiple shopping slots within supermarket apps one at a time only to discover that they’re all fully booked, for instance.
The guidelines are constantly evolving to accommodate those with diverse needs. Due this summer, WCAG 2.2, for example, gives a new focus to neurodiversity.
Those with neurodiverse needs include people with ADHD, Autism, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, and Tourette's syndrome.
WCAG 2.2 requires that help options appear consistently across pages on a website, for example, so it's easy for everyone to find. It also says that forms that are collecting the same information, such as name, must auto-populate.
You can set up browsers to store information today, but requiring websites to do it will reduce the cognitive load for us all, including people with neurodiverse needs.
I’m surprised it isn’t happening already.
What to expect from WCAG 3.0
Looking further ahead to WCAG 3.0, this will again expand to address a broader range of user's needs.
There’ll be a more comprehensive approach to mobile accessibility and a new emphasis on emerging assistive technology such as virtual and augmented reality.
Notably, there'll be a more diverse approach to testing, with less emphasis on true/false statements or a 'yes or no approach to accessibility. It's a positive step that could help dispel the myth that your website is either accessible or not.
Broaden accessibility responsibility beyond learning teams
Submitted by Guest Blogger on Tue, 04/05/2021 - 14:18
Guest blog by Alistair McNaught of McNaught Consultancy*
This is the third in a series of four blog posts (see part 1 and part 2) exploring accessibility maturity in educational settings. We suggest you read the first two blogs to fully benefit from this post.
Policies, strategies and practices that are enacted in order to meet minimum legal requirements cannot be considered maturity, only compliance.
Lens 2 - Responsibility
In the previous post in this series, we made the assertion that culture is made visible through practice. When it comes to the second lens of the maturity model – responsibility – this is especially noticeable.
For too long the responsibility has lain with the wrong people - disability support teams. It's not that they aren't good at their job. It's just that their expertise is different.
They are good at helping disabled learners climb over barriers. They're not the ones who can be designing barrier-free experiences in the first place.
Are you looking for accessibility training courses aimed at higher and further education professionals?
The importance of freeing learning support teams from overall responsibility for disabled students has been recognised for a long time. In 2007 the TechDis Senior Manager briefings included a self-assessment resource for those responsible for the external website, admissions, induction, independent learning, learning resources, career progression and guidance and assessment. That was 14 years ago.
Two years later followed the TechDis publication “12 steps towards Embedding Inclusive Practice with Technology as a Whole Institution Culture in UK Higher Education”. Step 1 was this:
“Deputy / Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic / Learning and Teaching) formulates and leads the inclusive practice action team.”
Low and mid-level accessibility maturity
An organisation with a low level of accessibility maturity is characterised by the absence of joined up thinking. Accessibility is owned by the passion of a few rather than the professionalism of the many. It is likely to be a marginal activity delegated down to people with limited authority to make necessary changes. Organisations that were just meeting the basics or below may be characterised by the following:
A cross-institution steering group that meets infrequently and has little visibility in terms of change practice.
Technical expertise in accessibility is limited, for example to the web team. Many teaching staff wouldn’t know if the documents they uploaded were accessible or not.
Outside of the disability team of the web team, few people will have much awareness of digital accessibility or know how it impacts on their roles.
As organisations become more mature, the sense of ownership and responsibility begins to extend. For example:
Teaching staff may be made aware of basic accessibility templates for document creation or course design.
The steering group may meet more often or have a more visible influence on changed practices.
Accessibility testing may baked into the design and sign-off for new digital projects or developments.
"For too long the responsibility has lain with the wrong people - disability support teams. It's not that they aren't good at their job. It's just that their expertise is different." - Alistair McNaught
Higher accessibility maturity levels
At the upper levels of maturity, the confidence and competence of a wide body of staff will mean the organisation moves beyond micromanagement of accessibility. Accessibility may be mandatory but a wide range of templates will be available. Even better, many staff will have enough understanding to create their own accessible content and courses without needing a template. At this level, the following lines of evidence will be available:
A senior sponsor will be responsible for digital accessibility across the organisation.
Any cross-organisation steering group will be hosted by senior staff, meeting regularly and evidencing positive outcomes.
Digital accessibility will be a standing item in self-assessment reviews or quality assurance processes, and appropriate training will be in place to make this meaningful (see the later lens in the final blog coming soon in the series, on skills and expertise!).
Students will be actively involved in accessibility developments.
Conclusion
In total, the “Responsibility” lens covers 13 different statements, using evidence from different parts of the organisation to tease out whether digital accessibility is owned or delegated and driven by passion or professionalism.
A real sign of maturity is when everyone within the organisation recognises digital accessibility as simply good practice - and inaccessible content as simply unprofessional practice to be noted and improved.
Some key observations from the pilot with 18 institutions included:
A number of organisations felt they were being led from the bottom or middle without the authority to influence the practice of other people.
The accessibility maturity of the organisation can depend on specific individuals. It is not unusual for specific teams (for example, the library or web team) to have a very real sense of responsibility, but other teams in the organisation have none at all. Equally, it is not unusual for the disability support team to be over-burdened with a sense of responsibility for the practices of others over whom they have little influence and less knowledge.
A real sign of maturity is when everyone within the organisation recognises digital accessibility as simply good practice - and inaccessible content as simply unprofessional practice to be noted and improved.
About this blog series
The final post in this four-part blog series will be published soon. See part 1 and part 2 in the series.
Do you need to train your staff in digital accessibility dos and don'ts? AbilityNet has two HE and FE customisable, cost-effective online eLearning modules.
Consider how our findings might help your organisation to become more “accessibility mature”. How would you respond to those sample statements? Who is championing cross-institution digital accessibility? Do they have the clout to make changes?
AbilityNet provides a range of free services to help disabled people and older people. If you can afford it, please donate to help us support older and disabled people through technology
How to prepare for June's mobile apps accessibility regulations deadline
Submitted by Annie Mannion on Wed, 28/04/2021 - 15:34
"Great informative and practical session, useful to have insight from colleagues at other unis - sharing tips, caveats and approaches from strategic and practical stance. Thank you."
During the webinar, senior accessibility consultant at AbilityNet, Alice Taylor, spoke with Amy Low, Service Delivery Director at AbilityNet (both pictured above, with Annie Mannion of AbilityNet, and Claire Gardener of University of Derby) to share guidance about mobile applications.
Alice and Amy's advice:
If you have in-house developed apps, make sure they are checked for accessibility
Most public sector organisations are more likely to use 3rd party apps. Speak to suppliers ASAP and publish a statement by 23rd June 2021.
Amy also posed questions about mobile applications to Alice, including:
What is the difference between web app, mobile web app, desktop and native mobile apps?
Mobile and desktop apps: "These are generally referred to as 'web apps' and these are built with the traditional web techniques such as HTML, and Javascript. Generally they'll respond to screen size so you might see it on desktop and see it on your mobile, but it would have a different layout," said Alice.
Native apps: "These are built for a platform, so I think iOS, Android and built with technologies such as Swift. These, crucially, are different platforms so you may have an app that is on both of these platforms so it can be accessed on iOS and Android and it may look the same, but they are different, so they may have been built completely differently," Alice continued.
"So from a testing perspective you would want to look at both of them. Native apps can be downloaded from the app store while, if you have a web app, this is something that can be accessed on the internet on your browser," said Alice, also noting that as native apps are downloaded onto your device, some of its content would be available offline.
Training for university staff on accessibility fundamentals
Claire Gardener, Senior Learning Technologist and lead contact for Digital Accessibility at University of Derby, also shared in the webinar how her university has developed its accessibility programme.
"This really resonated with our staff who have gone through the course," said Claire. "To give them an understanding on how individuals are personally affected it is very emotive and I think it provides a really powerful imperative to change... people have said this was a really great training session," Claire continued.
Productivity boost for people with Learning Disabilities: Digital Lifeline
Submitted by Sarah Botterill on Wed, 28/04/2021 - 11:33
AbilityNet is proud to be supporting Jennyruth workshops in its work, boosting confidence for people with learning disabilities by providing support with technology.
People involved through Jennyruth make and sell everything from coasters to wooden bird boxes.
AbilityNet supports the non-profit organisation through our involvement in Digital Lifeline, a government scheme providing people with learning disabilities access to tablets and the internet.
“A lot of our adults don’t have internet access where they live. They don’t have any form of communication such as a tablet or a laptop,” said Anna Smith, publicity and media at Jennyruth workshops.
“Often, they don't have a support at home or someone who either feels confident in or knows anything about the technology,” she added.
Support from AbilityNet for people with learning disabilities
AbilityNet has provided assessments for 14 of the 15 people who have received tablets through their involvement with Jennyruth.
Useful recommendations included a more robust cover for people with learning disabilities and other peripherals, notably mice and keyboards.
“For one lady who has a loss of vision, we’ve managed to get one of the big yellow keyboards. She absolutely loves it and can see the keys,” says Anna.
Another popular adaptation has been Action Blocks, an app that enables the creation of shortcuts for popular tasks.
“It can take people to a Zoom session or a particular activity on the tablet,” says Anna. “For one lady, we have quick access to recipes. She looks at them and writes them down on a piece of paper,” she added.
Jennyruth is one of many organisations we’re supporting through Digital Lifeline.
How AbilityNet can Help
For support with devices, call our FREE Helpline on 0800 048 7642
Library outreach helps adults with learning disabilities: Digital Lifeline
Submitted by Sarah Botterill on Tue, 27/04/2021 - 10:04
AbilityNet is working in partnership to ensure adults with Learning Disabilities get access to technology in the community.
One project is with Penrith Library, which runs an outreach project that has accessed technology through the Digital Lifeline project spearheaded by the Department for Culture Media and Sport alongside charities including AbilityNet.
“Pre-lockdown we had groups come into the library to access the books mainly and occasionally the computers with a support worker on a weekly basis. We have also been involved with an art group for people with learning disabilities and mental health who have used our establishment as a base to come and be involved in an art project which then was displayed in the Library,” said Claire Dougherty, library outreach project manager at Penrith Library
Community support for Adults with learning disabilities
Alongside other libraries within Cumbria, Penrith applied to Digital Lifeline to support adults with learning disabilities. “One of our libraries has been involved in a similar project in previous years and all the main libraries in each area decided it would be a good thing to be involved in especially regarding the situation with Covid,” said Claire.
“It’s a very rewarding project and helps people with learning disabilities access the internet who wouldn’t be able to or think that they can’t do it. It also provides resources for people who would not normally be able to afford it and additional resources which help with their disability.”
The main goals have been to help people use the internet, play games, contact GPs, and look up hobbies during the lockdown.
Support from AbilityNet for adults with learning disabilities
AbilityNet supports people who have received tablets through the scheme. “I have had lots of support from AbilityNet which has been invaluable,” said Claire.
“Everyone had an assessment and when I explained it was a friendly discussion to support them and find out what else AbilityNet could provide the candidates to help them with the tablets, they all went for the assessment,” she added.
“I have also had lots of discussions on the phone with Sian Hendy who I feel has supported me too. I am the only Library Project Officer based at Penrith and Sian has provided a lot of support for me sorting these out. Sian has always answered questions and supported me throughout and we have been able to move on to the next stage at a good steady pace.”
Nine tablets are with adults with learning disabilities.
Submitted by Annie Mannion on Thu, 22/04/2021 - 09:59
Thursday 20 May 2021 marks the tenth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital accessibility and inclusion for people with different health conditions and impairments.
One of the ways AbilityNet plans to mark GAAD is to chat with the two co-founders of the annual event: Jennison Asuncion, Head of Accessibility at LinkedIn, and Joe Devon, founding partner at Diamond, an inclusive digital agency.
The free Accessibility Insights with Jennison and Joe featured their experiences creating the global awareness event, and their thoughts on the future of inclusion and accessibility.
About GAAD
GAAD began in 2012 and now takes place annually on the third Thursday of May. The idea for the event was started by a single blog post written by Joe Devon, a web developer at the time, tentatively suggesting the event and encouraging people to spread the word.
Submitted by Guest Blogger on Mon, 19/04/2021 - 16:23
Guest blog by Alistair McNaught of McNaught Consultancy*
This is the second in a series of four blog posts (see part 1) exploring accessibility maturity in educational settings. We suggest you read the introductory blog first to fully benefit from this post.
In this article we explore the “Drivers” lens. What is driving your change? The need to be compliant and tick off the boxes? Or a desire to be digitally inclusive, ensuring every student can be as confident, independent and productive as possible?
We explore the Drivers lens with a number of self-assessment statements on which participants measure their organisation's accessibility:
Top level accessibility statement for all sites.
Links to 3rd party site external statements.
Staff training in digital accessibility available.
These are important, but they are low on the scale of maturity so in the maturity model they have low scores.
You would be foolish (and/or non-compliant) to ignore them, however. They demonstrate less of an institutional commitment to inclusive practice and more of a desire to “cover our back”.
A higher score in the model's 'Drivers lens' would be reflected in statements such as:
Automatic scanning conducted and regular (e.g. termly) review of results.
External accessibility review of sample pages to supplement internal testing and scanning.
Course level accessibility statements explain benefits of accessible content for student productivity.
Showing commitment to accessibility
Statements like these are designed to draw out commitment and purpose. For example, regular automated scanning of the digital estate illustrates a commitment to ongoing improvement. External reviews demonstrate integrity, a desire to learn and a recognition that automated processes are limited. Course level accessibility statements show that an organisation recognises that accessibility benefits all students and is the responsibility of all staff. This is a maturity shift.
The highest marks in this lens are reserved for statements that illustrate a commitment to a changed culture rather than a tick box compliance. This includes the following kinds of statements:
Blackboard A11Y, Sensus Access, Brickfield or other alternative formats/virtual learning environment (VLE) scanning tools are installed and promoted.
Staff training in digital accessibility is mandatory.
Disabled users (staff or students) involved in development of new sites or services.
Where such evidence is available, it strongly suggests an organisation is driven by a vision for excellence and inclusiveness rather than the need for compliance.
Results from the pilot
In a pilot project with 18 institutions, the average score for this lens was 35% with a range from 11% to 61%. These low scores can be interpreted in more than one way.
In some organisations, it was clear that the focus had been “getting over the line” in terms of the legislation. There had been little thought in making digital accessibility sustainable. But in other organisations, participants were uncertain about how to respond to the sample statements because it was outside their role or responsibility.
This highlights the importance of accessibility maturity being explored by different people within the organisation.
Some of the lower scores could also be explained because the pilot version of the model had scope only for yes/no answers. This made some participants answer “no” to statements where they were aware of partial but incomplete implementation.
Are you looking for accessibility training courses aimed at higher and further education professionals?
In total, the “Driver” lens covers 14 different statements. They use a range of evidence from different parts of the organisation to tease out whether digital accessibility is being driven by a one-off response to the legislation or an ongoing commitment to inclusive professional practice.
Many of our pilot participants valued the way the statements used evidence to map maturity, for example:
“It's not a 'one-off' task - it's about culture and embedding practice. This is so helpful!”
“The activities and focal discussion points have provided a most useful lens for critical self-reflection at an organisational level.”
They also highlighted the importance of more than one person taking part in an accessibility maturity review:
“Definitely a collaborative process across teams to fill in.”
“It would be easier completed as a group exercise - partly because of lack of knowledge of certain areas and also to get a balanced view.”
Making ongoing improvements
One of the key outcomes from the pilot was the way we were able to adapt and improve the model, clarifying explanations, tweaking some of the statements and scores and, most importantly, moving beyond a yes/no scale to a more accurate No/don’t know; Somewhat agree; Largely agree: Agree.
This makes the scoring more accurate at institutional level and it also makes the badging process more nuanced by allowing a more granular range of scores.
About this blog series
The third post in this four-part blog series will be about 'The Lens of Responsibility - who are the Actors? Do they have sufficient authority?'.
AbilityNet provides a range of free services to help disabled people and older people. If you can afford it, please donate to help us support older and disabled people through technology
Is your public sector app prepared for the final deadline?
Submitted by Robin Christopherson on Mon, 19/04/2021 - 14:16
In August 2018, a new law was passed that means that public sector apps and websites will need to meet accessibility standards so that people who use assistive technology or have additional needs can easily access services and information.
Nearing the final deadline
The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR) did not require organisations to achieve full compliance all in one go. They published the following timeline within which websites, downloadable documents (such as PDFs) and mobile apps needed to comply with the new regulations:
23rd September 2019: websites published or substantially revised after 23rd September 2018.
23rd September 2019: new content published on intranets.
23rd September 2020: existing websites still in use for delivering services.
And by 22nd June 2021: mobile apps.
That’s right – all but the final deadline has passed and it’s now the turn of mobile apps to be made compliant by this June.
Are you included in this legislation?
The regulations are not completely clear about what constitutes “public sector,” but if you receive public funding then you are likely to be required to comply with these regulations.
Non-government organisations like charities (unless they provide services that are essential to the public or aimed at disabled people), schools or nurseries are exempt from the regulations - except for the content the public need to use their services, and public sector broadcasters and their subsidiaries.
The regulations are made up of 3 parts:
Websites, apps and documents hosted on websites must comply with accessibility standards. There is a timeline (above) for when new and existing websites and mobile apps must comply.
Public sector organisations must publish an accessibility statement on their websites and in their apps to inform visitors about their accessibility.
The Government is required to monitor if public sector apps and websites are meeting these regulations by checking accessibility statements and the accessibility of a sample of apps and websites.
Accessibility standards
The regulations state that websites, apps and documents meet a European standard called EN 301 549, which covers all types of technology including documents, websites, mobile apps and software.
What are the exemptions?
Some content in your app may remain exempt, including:
Live audio and video and pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020.
Maps - although if the map helps users find a service, you must provide directions another way.
Third party content that isn’t under the organisation's control or hasn’t been purchased (e.g. social media ‘like’ buttons).
Organisations can exempt content or aspects of their apps from the regulations if they assess that this would cause a disproportionate burden to address the accessibility issue. This assessment must consider the benefits to disabled users of meeting the standards, the cost of meeting the standards and how the particular content or app element is used by disabled people. It should also consider your organisation’s size and resources.
This rationale (and how disabled visitors can acquire an accessible alternative) must be published in the accessibility statement.
Accessibility statements
Organisations are required to publish accessibility statements on their apps and websites explaining which parts of the content are not accessible, and, where appropriate, provide links to accessible alternatives.
It must also include contact information to raise any accessibility issues and details of the government’s process for escalating accessibility complaints to its monitoring and enforcement bodies.
National Volunteers' Week is 1 - 7 June 2021. We'd like to take the opportunity to say a huge "thank you" to the volunteers without who we couldn't provide support to thousands of older and disabled people every year.
People receiving Universal Credit can get cheaper access to fibre broadband from June through BT’s Home Essentials broadband service. 
According to government statistics
Clearly defined guidelines, published and updated by the W3C and incorporated into local legislation worldwide, means that digital developers and designers know how to ensure the accessibility of their products, and we can hold them to account when they fall short. 
WCAG 2.0 continued its focus on making web content accessible to people with visual impairments. There was a specific focus on screen reader compatibility. 
AbilityNet is proud to be supporting Jennyruth workshops in its work, boosting confidence for people with learning disabilities by providing support with technology. 
AbilityNet has provided assessments for 14 of the 15 people who have received tablets through their involvement with Jennyruth. 
Alongside other libraries within Cumbria, Penrith applied to Digital Lifeline to support adults with learning disabilities. “One of our libraries has been involved in a similar project in previous years and all the main libraries in each area decided it would be a good thing to be involved in especially regarding the situation with Covid,” said Claire.
