This accessibility statement applies to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award website: https://www.dofe.org/

This website is run by The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. My Computer My Way has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability, and the AT Hive can help you find assistive technologies that work for you.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the Non-accessible content section of this statement.

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: Digital.Team@DofE.org

Read tips on contacting organisations about inaccessible websites.

Compliance status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

• A number of images across the website including logos, icons and images used in content do not have appropriate alt text or have alt text where they should be marked as decorative. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A).
• Some content which should be structured as list content is not programmatically correct. This is mainly some navigational components but also includes some lists present within content. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
• There are many areas across the website where text does not meet contrast requirements. These are normally examples of smaller white text against pink backgrounds or white text against photo backgrounds. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA).
• At higher magnifications, when viewing the burger menu, there is a visually clipping which means the navigation bar partially obscures the Cymraeg, Donate, and eDofE login links. This fails WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow (AA).
• Some icons when receiving on hover focus from a mouse change colour and no longer meet contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA).
• The main navigation content present dropdown sub menus that are only present when hovered with a mouse and are not matched by keyboard experience. This fails WCAG 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus (AA).
• There are significant number of elements which are not keyboard navigable. This includes cookie controls, search and navigation elements, testimonial controls, and accordions. This fails WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard (A).
• Auto-scrolling content such as the banner slider and testimonials do not have controls to pause, stop, or hide the auto-scrolling content. This fails WCAG 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (A).
• There is no skip to content function on the DofE website. This fails WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A).
• The cookie banner is the last element present on the page so that a user must move through the entire page before they can make an informed decision about cookies. News tiles present each article with duplicate links which extends the tab order in a way which may be disruptive to keyboard users. This fails WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order (A).
• Many icon and image links across the website do not have accessible text names or their text is not descriptive of their function. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (A).
• There is no focus indication across nearly all aspects of the website which makes navigating the website for keyboard only users almost impossible. This fails WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA).
• In some situations such as navigating through the burger menu or through image galleries or carousels, users can end up navigating through content that is visually obscured. This fails WCAG 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (AA).
• Many elements across the website including some links and other controls such as accordions do not have accessible text names, do not announce their state, or their purpose. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).

If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Feedback and contact information’ section of this statement.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is committed to addressing the accessibility issues outlined above within the next 12 to 18 months. Our approach includes balancing quick wins and tackling more complex issues that impact the entire website. Quick wins, such as adding accessible text names to icons and images, can be implemented swiftly and will immediately improve the user experience for many visitors. Meanwhile, we are also planning comprehensive updates to ensure keyboard navigability, focus visibility, and the integration of a ‘skip to content’ function across the site. These steps are part of a broader strategy to enhance our digital accessibility, ensuring that all users can navigate and interact with our websites effectively and efficiently.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 13/01/2025. It was last reviewed on 16/01/2025.

This website was last tested on 14/07/2024. The test was carried out by All Able Ltd.

A representative sample of pages of the website were tested. Testing was composed of a mixture of manual, semi-automated and assistive technology testing.