Your school’s website is a vital resource. Not only is it the first point of contact for prospective parents and carers, but it is used almost every day by your existing community.
The Department for Education has clear guidelines regarding the specific information about your school that must be published online. This content needs to be accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
With this in mind, ensuring that your school’s website is accessible isn’t just about compliance. It’s about creating an inclusive physical and digital environment that serves
everyone within your community.
Does website accessibility affect your school’s Ofsted rating?
While website accessibility doesn’t directly influence your Ofsted rating, it does play a key role in how inspectors will perceive your school prior to inspections.
Inspectors often review school websites before visits to gather initial insights about your school’s provision and management. Having an accessible website is an outward commitment to inclusion and statutory compliance.
A fully accessible website demonstrates your school’s dedication to inclusive education and effective communication - key themes in Ofsted’s evaluation framework. It shows that your community can meet and understand the needs of all stakeholders.
Understanding website accessibility requirements
Creating an accessible school website requires attention to three key areas that work together to ensure all users can access your content effectively:
Technical requirements
Your school’s website needs to align with the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards, which provides a framework for digital accessibility. This means ensuring sufficient colour contrast between text and backgrounds, making it easier for users with visual impairments to read your content.
Your website should feature a clear content hierarchy and straightforward navigation, to help users understand how information is organised, and find what they’re looking for quickly.
Images also need descriptive alternative text that screen readers can interpret, and forms should be properly labelled, making it clear what information is required in each field.
Common accessibility barriers
Many school websites often face several common accessibility challenges that can create barriers to entry for users. Many schools use PDFs to share important information, but these documents aren’t always formatted for screen readers (making them inaccessible to the visually impaired).
Similarly, video content without captions or transcripts excludes users with hearing impairments.
Navigation menus can become overly complex, making it difficult for users to find essential information. When images lack alternative text, screen reader users miss out on important information. Plus, forms that can only be completed using a mouse create barriers for users who rely on assistive devices.
Mobile accessibility
Parents and carers are likely to be accessing school information on their phones - making mobile accessibility key.
Your website should automatically adjust its layout to different screen sizes, ensuring content remains easily readable without requiring users to manually zoom in and out.
Plus, essential information should be easily accessible on mobile devices. With working parents and carers likely forming a large part of your school community, they will be accessing your website out of hours - which is a key part of your communication strategy, too.
The essential elements of an accessible school website
Creating an accessible school website isn’t just about meeting technical requirements. It’s about ensuring that every member of your school community can access key information quickly and easily.
Do you need help ensuring that your school website meets all compliance and accessibility requirements? We’ve created a comprehensive guide to help.
Our FREE School Website Accessibility Checklist includes:
- A complete list of the statutory information required by Ofsted
- Key accessibility requirements for different user groups
- A regular checklist for auditing and maintaining compliance
Download the checklist today, to ensure your school website is fully compliant. → School Website Accessibilty Checklist
Understanding .sch.uk domains
While schools in the UK aren’t legally required to have a .sch.uk domain, these domains are free and readily available for all organisations in the education sector.
These domains are exclusively managed by Nominet UK, and typically follow the format schoolname.area.sch.uk, and offer a number of advantages for schools:
Trust building
A .sch.uk domain verifies your status as a legitimate educational establishment - a clear sign of trustworthiness.
Having a .sch.uk provides reassurance to prospective parents and carers, whose main concern is the safety of their child.
Enhanced security features
.sch.uk domains come with additional security considerations that aren’t available to standard domain extensions.
These measures help protect your school’s online presence, and provide peace of mind for staff and parents accessing your digital resources.
Securing a .sch.uk domain
The registration process for a .sch.uk domain involves applying through Nominet UK, with specific documentation proving your status as an educational institution.
While the process is understandably more rigorous than registering a standard domain, this process helps maintain the trusted status of .sch.uk domains.
Next steps
Creating an accessible website for your school isn’t just about meeting requirements. It’s about effectively serving your entire school community.
While the technical aspects may seem daunting, you don’t need to tackle this alone. Whether you need a complete website overhaul, or support with specific accessibility improvements, our team is here to help!
Ready to make your school's website more accessible? Contact our team today to discuss your needs.