What accessible content is

What content needs to be made accessible

Find out what content needs to be made accessible and what you need to do if it's not.  

On this page

What content is

Anyone who creates or commissions content for our websites is legally responsible for making sure it's accessible. 

This includes content on websites:

  • we manage or control
  • we pay somebody else to provide for us
  • meant only for staff, like our Intranet or SharePoint sites

Web content includes any content we publish on our websites meant for online reading. This includes:

  • web page text and images
  • documents files, like PDFs, spreadsheets or Easy Read documents 
  • forms and surveys
  • video and audio-only content (like podcasts)

You cannot claim it's too difficult to make content accessible just because you haven't prioritised it or you lack the time or knowledge. Make a plan to review content people use on your web pages and if you need to, fix it.

Things you need to fix

Your team will need to fix content that has not been made accessible if it has been published on our:

  • public websites, even if the website has been outsourced to an external supplier
  • intranets or extranets after 23 September 2019
  • intranets or extranets before 23 September 2019 if they are updated or redeveloped

This content includes:

  • text and images
  • pre-recorded audio and video published after 23 September 2020
  • PDFs or other documents published after 23 September 2018 
  • PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018, if users need them to use a service, like a form that lets you request school meal preferences

Things you might not need to fix

Your team does not need to fix content that's exempt from the accessibility regulations, including:

  • content on intranets or extranets published before 23 September 2019, unless you make a major update
  • PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018, unless users need them to use your service, like a form that lets you request school meal preferences
  • pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
  • live audio and video - unless it's recorded for later access and was published after 23 September 2020
  • maps - but you’ll need to provide essential information in an accessible format like an address
  • heritage collections like scanned manuscripts
  • archived websites if they’re not needed for services you provide and they are not updated
  • third party content that’s under someone else’s control if you did not pay for it or develop it yourself, like social media 'like' buttons

Third-party content under someone else’s control

You are not responsible for fixing third party content that’s under someone else’s control if you did not pay for it or develop it yourself. For example, a YouTube video or PDF produced by an external organisation.

While you do not need to fix this content, you are still responsible for providing this information in an alternative format if:

  • it is essential to understanding or using your service - users rely on it to complete a task, access information or make decisions
  • a user requests an accessible version (even if exempt from accessibility regulations)

Examples of an alternative format could be:

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

Content in schools and nurseries

Primary and secondary schools, as well as nurseries, don't have to meet all the requirements of the Public Sector Accessibility Regulations (GOV.UK). But, they do need to make sure that essential content people need to use their services is accessible.

This could include:

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

This information should be easy to find and use. Don't hide this information in hard to read or use PDFs, flyers or website widgets.

Where possible, publish this essential information as plain text on a page on your website (like the information on this page). This helps it work well on phones, tablets and with assistive technologies like screen readers.

If you share PDFs or other digital formats

If you share essential information as a PDF (Portable Document Format) or using other digital methods, you must make sure this information is accessible to as many people as possible.

Below are examples of how to make different types of content more accessible.

Example: School admissions policy as a PDF

Make an accessible PDF from an accessible source document, usually in Microsoft Word.

To do this, you might need to do things like: 

Read detailed guidance, including a checklist, in How to make Word documents accessible.

Example: Sharing a school lunch menu 

If you're uploading a lunch menu as a PDF, you can also list the menu items directly on your website. Ideally, use headings and simple bullet lists, so everyone can access it. 

Avoid using tables or calendar widgets on web pages, unless you can make them accessible. They can be hard to navigate on small screens and with screen reader software.

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

If you post a parents' evening flyer in a school app or on a social media feed, include the key details in plain text in the main part of 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 a reasonable effort to give people who are disabled access to online content in a different format if they ask for it. This includes content that is normally exempt from accessibility regulations. This helps prevent discrimination against people with disabilities. 

For example, for a PDF on your website, you could be asked to provide:

  • a plain text version
  • a braille version
  • an Easy Read version

Make it easy for people to ask for this if they need it. Add clear instructions on your website or in online materials (like PDFs), explaining how to contact the school to request an alternative format.