Accessibility statement

Capel Manor College is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. This accessibility statement applies to the Capel Manor College website, www.capel.ac.uk. This website is run by Capel Manor College. We want as many people to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • zoom in without making the text inaccessible
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 level AA, due to the non-compliances listed below.

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

  • some online forms may display error messages for required fields that screen readers may have difficulty detecting
  • keyboard focus is not always visible on some interactive elements, including certain navigation controls, search controls, cookie consent controls and chatbot elements when navigating using a keyboard
  • some navigation menus cannot be dismissed using the keyboard without moving focus
  • some third-party components, including our cookie consent tool and chatbot, have accessibility limitations that are outside of our direct control
  • when the chatbot is expanded at high levels of zoom (400% or on a 320px wide viewport), content may not reflow correctly and may require horizontal scrolling or become inaccessible
  • some PDF documents may not fully meet accessibility requirements, including issues relating to document structure, alternative text, language settings and colour contrast
  • some older video content does not include captions

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The issues listed below were identified through accessibility testing and remain outstanding. Each issue includes the relevant WCAG 2.2 success criteria it fails:

  • Keyboard focus visibility – Keyboard focus is not consistently visible on certain interactive elements across the website, including some cookie consent controls, search controls, chatbot elements, mobile navigation components and other navigation controls. This fails WCAG Success Criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible. Some of these issues relate to third-party software providers and have been raised with the relevant suppliers. We continue to monitor updates and will implement fixes where they become available.
  • Reflow and responsive behaviour – When the website chatbot is expanded at 400% zoom or on a viewport equivalent to 320 CSS pixels wide, some content does not reflow correctly and may overflow the visible area. This fails WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.10 Reflow. This functionality is provided by a third-party supplier. We have raised the issue with the provider and are awaiting a permanent resolution.
  • Content on hover or focus – The main navigation menus cannot always be dismissed without moving keyboard focus or pointer hover, which may create difficulties for keyboard users. This fails WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus. We are reviewing this behaviour and will implement improvements where technically possible.
  • Form validation and error messages – Some online forms display validation error messages for required fields that are not consistently announced by screen readers, meaning some users may not be informed when information is missing. We are reviewing these forms and will improve their accessibility where technically possible.
  • Video content – Some older video content published on the website does not include captions. This fails WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded).
  • Documents (PDFs and other files) – Some PDF and Word documents published on our website are not fully accessible. This includes documents that do not contain appropriate alternative text for images, are not fully tagged or structured for screen reader use, do not have a specified language set, or contain text that does not meet minimum colour contrast requirements. Where possible, we will update or replace these documents with accessible versions. These issues may fail WCAG Success Criteria 1.1.1 Non-text Content, 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) and 3.1.1 Language of Page.
  • Third-party components – Some accessibility issues originate from third-party services integrated into our website, including our cookie consent platform and live chatbot. Although we work with these suppliers to improve accessibility, some issues cannot currently be resolved directly by Capel Manor College. We regularly review these components and will apply updates when accessible versions become available.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are actively working to improve the accessibility of this website. This includes:

  • improving keyboard focus visibility across website components
  • addressing layout and reflow issues at higher zoom levels
  • improving the accessibility of content triggered on hover or focus
  • improving the accessibility of online forms and validation messages
  • ensuring new video content includes captions
  • ensuring new documents are fully accessible and reviewing or replacing older documents where possible
  • working with third-party suppliers to address accessibility issues in externally provided components
  • reviewing accessibility as part of ongoing website updates and maintenance

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, or if you experience an accessibility issue, please contact:

marketing@capel.ac.uk
0303 003 1234

We will consider your request and respond as soon as possible.

If you cannot view the map on our 'contact' page, call us on 0303 003 1234 for directions.

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).

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 8 April 2026. The statement was last reviewed on 9 June 2026.

The website was tested using a combination of automated accessibility testing and manual accessibility testing, including checks for keyboard accessibility, responsive behaviour and content displayed on hover or focus.

The assessment was carried out internally by the Marketing and Communications department with support from their website development agency, and informed by findings from external accessibility monitoring.

Navigation and compatibility

Text size

You can increase or decrease the size of text and page content using your browser's zoom controls. On most browsers, press Ctrl and + (or ⌘ and + on a Mac) to zoom in and Ctrl and - (or ⌘ and -) to zoom out. You can also hold the Ctrl key and use the mouse wheel to adjust the zoom level.

Navigating without a mouse

Use the Tab key to move between interactive elements such as links and buttons, and Shift + Tab to move backwards.

Press Enter or the Spacebar to activate the selected control where appropriate.

Use the Arrow keys to navigate within certain menus, lists and page content, depending on your browser and assistive technology.

Your browser's built-in keyboard shortcuts can also be used to navigate forwards and backwards between pages.

Browser compatibility

This website is designed to work with the latest versions of commonly used web browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari. For the best experience, we recommend keeping your browser up to date.

To report problems or suggestions, please contact us via email at marketing@capel.ac.uk