Accessibility statement for the quality and standards assessor secure online portal

This is an accessibility statement for the quality and standards assessor secure online portal.

This portal is run by the Office for Students. We want as many people as possible to be able to use the portal. For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 300% 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
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

The text on the portal is sometimes about complex regulations, but we have written it in clear English and made it as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNetExternal link (Opens in a new tab or window) has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

Parts of the portal are not fully accessible. For example:

• some headings are not correctly labelled and ordered
• some interactive elements don't meet minimum size or
• Inline frames missing alternative text
• where calendar control is used, role is not inside the required context
• where calendar control is used, the container element is empty.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

• email digitalpublishing@officeforstudents.org.uk
• call 0117 931 7317

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements please use this feedback form to give us more details. Give feedback to improve the pages

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)External link (Opens in a new tab or window).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

The Office for Students 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 partially compliant with the Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 External link (Opens in a new tab or window) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons. Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations.

• In some instances, the headings are not correctly labelled and are out of order. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.6.
• In an instance, the interactive element that is used to in a table header doesn't meet the minimum size requirement. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.5.8.
• In an instance, the inline form does not have an alternative text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 4.1.2.
• In an instance, where a calendar control is used for input, the role is not inside the required context. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.3.1.
• In an instance, where a calendar control is used for input, the container element is empty. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.3.1.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are continuing to update the portal and will be including Accessibility improvements as part of that.

We acknowledge that there are certain accessibility issues that cannot be fully addressed due to technological limitations.

Specifically, our website uses custom Microsoft components that are implemented out of the box. These components currently do not support full compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA standards, and we are unable to modify them to meet these requirements.

We continue to work with our technology partners to advocate for improvements and updates to these components. In the meantime, we are dedicated to providing alternative solutions and support to ensure a positive user experience for all visitors.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 24 April 2025. It was last reviewed on 24 April 2025.

The quality and standards assessment portal was last tested on 24 April 2025. The test was carried out by the Office for Students using the website governance tool, SilkTideExternal link (Opens in a new tab or window).