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SimplyBookMe Accessibility Statement

SimplyBookMe Is Partially Accessible

The University of Cumbria take accessibility very seriously and want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. We are actively working to make the website more accessible to all people and compliant with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) WAI’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1.

View our accessibility tools page to find accessibility tools and plugins to help improve your online experience.

You should be able to:

  • understand the website text
  • clear and consistent navigation
  • change colours and contrast levels using a browser extension
  • zoom in up to 300% on most pages without the text spilling off the screen
  • be able to understand hyperlink destinations from the text description
  • use text to speech tools to access content
  • Unique page titles 

How accessible your website is

  • When viewing the calendar page at 200% some text is lost on the days of the week as the text does not reflow
  • Some text colours and contrast fail the required standard
  • Keyboard only users cannot access all areas of the screen
  • Tab Focus is not clear, however, the Focus Indicator browser extension works well
  • Alternative text is not applied to the images used in the pages
  • you cannot skip to the main content

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

Self-help options

Alternative Formats

The University subscribes to an alternative formats service Sensus Access. This service will transfer most files into a chosen format e.g. an inaccessible PDF can be transferred to an accessible PDF, or a Word document can be transferred to sound. This service can be used directly by Students using their University email address. Alternative Formats

Assistive Technologies

You can access specialist assistive software on PCs and laptops throughout the university and also download free web-based tools to enable you to fully interact with content. To find out more visit the assistive software page or download the AT Bar for free. 

University of Cumbria Support

If you are unable to access content or interact with the interface and would like an alternative accessible format, please contact us to discuss the most suitable options, please contact:

We will review your request and communicate with you in 7 days.

Reporting Accessibility Problems with this Website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. You can help us by reporting any barriers you encounter and contribute to our Accessibility Improvement plan. however if you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact itservicedesk@cumbria.ac.uk.

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).

Technical information about this web-based system’s accessibility levels

The University of Cumbria is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

1. Non-compliance with accessibility regulations

  • Colour and Contrast fail the WCAG Guidelines WCAG2.1 – 1.4.1, 1.4.3, 1.4.11. This affects the following pages:
    • Home page content text colour
    • Choose location page text colour
    • Choose provider page text colour
    • Confirm details page text colour
    • Most hyperlinks

The browser extension can be used to change the text formatting however the current format contravenes the guidelines. This has been added to the accessibility action plan and will be discussed with the 3rd party software provider to correct the issue. The statement is updated annually or when an improvement has been made.

  • Keyboard only users cannot access all areas of the screen this includes
    • Links on the homepage
    • Calendar page

This contravenes WCAG2.1 – 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.4.3 as users must be able to operate and interact with the system using a variety of methods. This is currently being reviewed and has been added to the Accessibility Action Plan for resolution. The Statement is updated annually and when improvements have been made.

  • Tab Focus is not clear when navigating using the keyboard. This makes it difficult for the user to know where the tab focus is on the screen. This affects none mouse users and contravenes WCAG2.1 - 2.4.7. The browser Focus Indicator Extension works well to mitigate the issue in the short term. This issue has been added to the Accessibility Improvement Action Plan and we reviewing the feasibility of changing the settings. The action plan is monitored and updated annually.
  • There is no Skip Main Content option available when using the keyboard to improve the user experience. This means that more tab strokes are needed to navigate the page, which impacts on the user experience This contravenes WCAG2.1 -  2.4.1 and is a 3rd party issue. We are, however, communicating with the System Owners regarding this function and have added it to the Accessibility Action Plan, which is monitored and updated annually.
  • Alternative text is not available on images this impacts on those using screen reader who will not be able to fully access the page. This doesn’t meet the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). We plan to add text alternatives for all images and have added the action to the accessibility action plans. The statement is updated annually or when improvements are made.

2. Disproportionate Burden

This is system-specific and needs specific justification which recognises and documents likely cost of improvement and likely benefit/impact on disabled people.

3. Content that’s not within the Scope of the Accessibility Regulations

How we tested this Website

We tested the most visited pages both manually and with the use of accessibility testing software such as Wave, a web accessibility evaluation tool WAVE and Accessibility Insights.

This system was last tested on August 2020 by University of Cumbria.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are continuously working to improve the accessibility levels of Richmond. A Basic Accessibility Check is carried out each year followed by a more detailed accessibility check, both assessments highlight the areas needing improvement. The identified issues are added to the system improvement action plan with a timescale for improvement or 3rd party communications on improvement.

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