Web accessibility is not an optional enhancement for UK school websites — it is a legal requirement. Since September 2020, all public sector websites in the UK — including all state-funded school websites — have been required to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Despite this clear legal obligation, research consistently shows that a significant proportion of UK school websites fail to meet even basic accessibility requirements. This creates both legal risk for the school and — more importantly — genuine barriers for disabled pupils, parents, and community members trying to access school information.
What Is WCAG 2.1 Level AA?
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.1 is an internationally recognised technical standard for web accessibility developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Level AA is the standard required for UK public sector websites. It is organised around four principles: content must be Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR).
The Most Common WCAG Failures on UK School Websites
Insufficient Colour Contrast
Text must have a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against its background (for normal text) to be legible for users with colour vision deficiencies or low vision. Many school websites use pale grey text on white backgrounds, or light-coloured text on branded backgrounds, that fail this requirement.
Images Without Alternative Text
Every meaningful image on your school website must have an ‘alt text’ description — a text alternative that describes the image for screen reader users who cannot see it. Images used purely for decoration should have empty alt text (alt=”) so screen readers can skip them.
PDF Documents That Are Not Accessible
Many schools publish PDF documents — policies, newsletters, prospectuses — that are either scanned images (completely inaccessible to screen readers) or untagged PDFs (which screen readers struggle to navigate). All published PDF documents should be properly tagged and structured.
Videos Without Captions
Any video content on your school website must include accurate captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing users. Auto-generated captions from YouTube or Vimeo are often inaccurate and should be reviewed and corrected before publication.
Non-Keyboard-Accessible Interactive Elements
All interactive elements — navigation menus, forms, buttons, carousels, modal popups — must be operable by keyboard alone (using Tab and Enter keys), without requiring a mouse. Many JavaScript-heavy interactive elements fail this requirement.
The Accessibility Statement: A Mandatory Publication
Every school website must publish an Accessibility Statement that: identifies specific known accessibility issues, explains what steps the school is taking to address them, and provides contact information for users to report accessibility issues and request alternative formats. This statement must be updated whenever significant changes are made to the website.
How Techcited Ltd Delivers Accessible School Websites
Every website Techcited Ltd builds for schools is designed and developed to WCAG 2.1 Level AA from the ground up. We conduct accessibility audits using both automated tools (Axe, WAVE) and manual expert review, and provide clients with a compliance report and pre-written Accessibility Statement upon launch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the consequences of a UK school website failing to meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards?
A: The Government Digital Service can investigate complaints and require compliance. The ICO can also act on GDPR breaches that overlap with accessibility failures. The reputational risk of publicly failing disabled community members is arguably the more immediate consequence.
Q: How do I test my school’s current website for accessibility issues?
A: Free tools such as WAVE (wave.webaim.org), Axe (available as a browser extension), and Google Lighthouse provide automated accessibility checks. These tools identify many common issues but should be supplemented by manual expert review for comprehensive assessment.
Q: Does Techcited Ltd provide accessibility audits and remediation for existing school websites?
A: Yes. We offer standalone accessibility audits and a phased remediation service for existing school websites. Contact us for a free accessibility overview of your current site.
Ready to get started?
Make your school website accessible to every member of your community — and legally compliant. Techcited Ltd builds WCAG 2.1 AA accessible school websites. Contact us for your free audit.
