What accessible content is

What content needs to be made accessible

What content must be accessible and what to do if it is not.

What content needs to be accessible

Anyone who creates, writes, or commissions content for our websites is legally responsible for making it accessible. This includes:

public-facing websites we manage or commission
staff only sites, like our Intranet or SharePoint sites
documents, forms, videos, audio and interactive tools

Web content includes anything we publish online for people to read, watch, listen to or interact with.

Accessibility is not optional. You cannot say content is too difficult to fix because it has not been prioritised, or because of a lack of time or knowledge.”

Content you need to fix

Content must be made accessible if it has been published on:

public websites (even if outsourced)
intranets or extranets after 23 September 2019
intranets or extranets published before 23 September 2019, if they have been updated or redeveloped

This includes:

text and images
pre-recorded audio and video published after 23 September 2020
PDFs and other documents published after 23 September 2018
PDFs and other documents published before 23 September 2018 if people need them to use a service, such as a school meal request form

Content you might not need to fix

Some content is exempt under accessibility regulations, including:

intranet or extranet content published before 23 September 2019, unless major updates are made
PDFs and other documents published before 23 September 2018, unless they are essential for a service
pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
live audio and video, unless it is recorded for later access and published after 23 September 2020
maps (you must still provide essential information in an accessible format, such as an address)
heritage collections, such as scanned manuscripts
archived websites that are not needed to deliver services and are not updated
third-party content under someone else’s control, if you did not pay for it or create it (for example, social media ‘like’ buttons)

If exempt content is essential to complete a service, or someone requests it in an accessible format, you must still provide an alternative.

If content is not accessible immediately

Sometimes it may not be possible to make content fully accessible straight away. This is not a reason to ignore accessibility requirements.

If you cannot make content fully accessible immediately, you must:

provide an alternative format so people can still access the information, for example a plain text version, Easy Read version or a summary page
explain how people can request accessible content, including clear contact details
create a plan to make the content fully accessible as soon as possible, and set a clear timeline for doing so

Accessibility is a legal requirement. Delays or technical challenges do not remove your responsibility to make content accessible.

All content must meet accessibility standards as soon as reasonably possible.

Third-party content under someone else’s control

You are not responsible for fixing content created by other organisations if you did not pay for it or develop it. Examples include embedded YouTube videos or external PDFs.

You are still responsible for providing the key information in an alternative format if:

it is essential for users to complete a task or understand a service
a user requests an accessible version, even if the content is normally exempt

Examples of alternative formats include:

a text summary of important information from an embedded video with no captions
text on a web page summarising inaccessible information in a PDF
a plain text summary of a complex PDF with charts and tables
a CSV file of table data from a PDF financial report

Content in schools and nurseries

Primary and secondary schools, and nurseries, do not have to meet all accessibility regulations. However, they must make essential information accessible.

Essential information includes:

school meal selection forms
admissions and enrolment forms and information
parent guides
absence reporting
timetables and term dates
emergency alerts

Essential information should be easy to find and use. Do not hide it in hard-to-read PDFs, flyers, or website widgets.

Where possible, publish essential information as plain text on a web page. This works better on mobile devices and with assistive technologies such as screen readers.

Sharing PDFs or other digital formats

If you share essential information as a PDF or another digital format, you must make it accessible.

Example: School admissions policy as a PDF

Create an accessible PDF from an accessible source document, usually Microsoft Word.

You may need to:

use a clear file name and document title
apply proper heading styles
add alternative text for images, such as a school logo
use clear and meaningful link text
consider how web addresses (URLs) will be used if the document is mainly read online
export the Word document correctly as a tagged PDF

Read the detailed guidance and checklist in How to make Word documents accessible.

Example: Sharing a school lunch menu

If you upload a lunch menu as a PDF, also list the menu items directly on your website using headings and simple bullet lists.

Avoid tables or calendar widgets unless you can make them accessible. These can be difficult to use on small screens and with screen readers.

Example: Parents’ evening flyer shared on a school app or social media

If you share a flyer in an app or on social media, include the key details as plain text in the post. For example:

Parent’s Evening - Thursday, 7 November 2025
Book your slot - email: office@school.notts.sch.uk

Download the parent's evening flyer [PDF]

Provide alternative formats on request

Under the Equality Act 2010, schools must make reasonable efforts to provide content in an alternative format when requested. This includes content that is normally exempt from accessibility regulations.

Examples include: