The statement covers https://www.crestawards.org.
The purpose of the CREST website is to provide information about the CREST Awards, their benefit to student’s STEM development, and the cost of the awards. This web platform is run by the British Science Association, who are committed to making their website as accessible as possible for persons with visual, hearing, cognitive and motor impairments. The users are able to:
● change colours, contrast levels and fonts
● zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
● navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
● navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
● navigate the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
My Computer My Way has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible the website is
Although we constantly test our online platform to the WCAG 2.1 guidelines to ensure it works on both desktop and mobile devices, currently there are some barriers that may prevent disabled users’ access to the website, such as:
Decorative images have alt text
Background images across the site have been given alternative text, usually the filename of the image. This will cause confusion for many users as the image does not provide any information to the user but is decorative.
Background images should have an empty alt attribute, which will allow them to be skipped by screen readers.
Form fields do not have labels or error messages
On the Newsletter page, there is a form to encourage people to keep in contact with CREST Awards. However, this form has not been created in an accessible way. The visual labels on the form are not associated with the fields, meaning that screen reader users are not aware of the purpose of the field without navigating the surrounding content. Furthermore, it is possible to submit a blank form or one with incorrect format types. Forms should have errors that help a user to submit a form correctly.
Colour contrast issues for text and interactive components
Across the pages tested, there were several issues relating to colour contrast of text.
The placeholder text in the search bar, some buttons,and some text images fall below the required 4.5:1 contrast ratio. Link text was also problematic on occasion.
For interactive components, the fields in the newsletter section had a light grey border against a white background, leading to a low contrast ratio. The “scrollspy” element, which allows for quick access points on a page, would also fall below the required 3:1 colour contrast ratio when the background would change.
There is no indication of focus
Keyboard only users navigate the page using the keyboard controls. Across the pages tested there was no focus indication, meaning that users have no certainty where they are on the page. This is a critical issue as all users need certainty regarding their location on the page.
Issues relating to keyboard controls
There are some items that could not be reached using the keyboard alone. The first example of this is the polyline scroll chevron, which begins the scrolling feature for users. This component cannot be reached. Either the component must be reached by everyone or must be removed.
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in an alternative format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille: please contact us by using this data:
● email beth-louise.sturdee@britishscienceassociation.org
We will consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact beth-louise.sturdee@britishscienceassociation.org.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The CREST Awards Scheme (managed by the British Science Association) 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 not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-compliances are listed below.
Text Alternatives
· The “Urenco” logo in the footer and PDF preview links on several pages lack the alt text required to give it context, resulting in an empty link.
o (1.1.1 Non-text Content [level A])
o (1.4.5 Images of Text [level A])
o (2.4.4 Link Purpose (in context) [level A])
o (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A])
· The “Ricardo” logo in the footer and some logos on the “Supporters” page also lack alt text.
o (1.1.1 Non-text Content [level A])
o (1.4.5 Images of Text [level A])
Time-Based Media
· Auto-captioning in a YouTube video on the “What is CREST” page reads as “Craft” instead of “CREST”.
o (1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) [level A])
· There are also no audio descriptions or text alternatives for the YouTube video.
o (1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded) [level A])
o (1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) [level AA])
Adaptable/Compatible
· Text on some pages has been programmatically defined as a heading, but it does not head up content.
o (1.3.1 Info and Relationships [level A])
o (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A])
· The Newsletter signup form has an empty heading above it.
o (1.3.1 Info and Relationships [level A])
o (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A])
· The Submit button for the Newsletter signup form is wrapped in a fieldset but does not include the required legend.
o (1.3.1 Info and Relationships [level A])
o (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A])
· The newsletter signup form is inside an iframe with no title.
o (4.1.2 Name, Role, Value [level A])
· Users of assistive technology are not notified when the newsletter signup form is submitted.
o (4.1.3 Status Messages [level AA])
Navigable
· The focus order in the header does not make sense. The focus moves from the logo to the search feature at the bottom of the footer and then to the links above.
o (2.4.3 Focus Order [level A])
· The “Learn More” links on the Home and FAQs pages lack context because they are in a different paragraph from the copy that provides context.
o (2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) [level A])
· The select dropdown in the Newsletter signup does not have a visible keyboard focus. This affects Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera, but not Firefox.
o (2.4.7 Focus Visible [level AA])
We plan to fix all these issues soon. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.
Disproportionate burden
[This section is for accessibility items that will not be fixed as it would be a disproportionate burden to fix them, e.g.
● It is not possible to change the device orientation of the league table page without making the content more difficult to view].
We have assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation and accessing information, and with interactive tools and transactions. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the supplier contract is up for renewal, likely to be in [rough timing].
What we are doing to improve accessibility
We are doing the following to improve the accessibility of our Website:
● We have conducted an external audit to evaluate the current state of our online platform.
● We have had accessibility training to better understand existing accessibility issues that are currently present on our online platform.
● We are planning to fix the issues based on the external audit in the near future.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 20 March 2024. It was last reviewed on 20 March 2024.
This website was last tested between the 6 and 19 of March 2024. The test was carried out by GrackleDocs (www.grackledocs.com).
Accessibility in your CREST account
We aim to make our services accessible to people with a diverse range of hearing, movement, sight, and cognitive ability. We designed the CREST account to meet the AA standard of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by W3C.
If you have any feedback on the accessibility of your CREST account, or on any other aspect of our site, please let us know.
Click here to view our Accessibility statement for CREST Awards Help Centre (https://help.crestawards.org).