Accessibility
Last reviewed: April 2026
Our commitment
Curiosity Shed is an independent research and publishing site. We are not a public sector body and are not subject to the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018. However, we take accessibility seriously as a matter of principle and under the spirit of the Equality Act 2010.
This site is built with accessibility as a design requirement, not an afterthought. The measures below were in place from the initial build in January 2026.
What we have done
Keyboard navigation
Every page can be navigated using a keyboard. Tab order follows a logical reading sequence. A skip link appears on focus at the top of every page, allowing keyboard users to jump directly to main content without traversing navigation.
Screen readers
Pages use semantic HTML throughout. Headings follow a logical
hierarchy. Navigation tabs use ARIA roles and states and respond to
arrow keys per ARIA best practice. Decorative elements are marked
with aria-hidden.
Focus visibility
Visible focus styles are present on all interactive elements
using :focus-visible. Focus styles use the site's
accent colour with sufficient contrast.
Colour and contrast
Text meets WCAG 2.2 AA contrast ratios throughout. Colour is not used as the sole means of conveying information.
Images
All informational images have descriptive alt text. Decorative images are marked appropriately.
Motion
Transitions respect the prefers-reduced-motion
media query. Users who have set reduced motion in their operating
system will not see animated transitions.
Font and readability
Body text renders at the browser default size and scales correctly with browser font size settings. Line height is set to 1.7–1.8 throughout.
No tracking or third-party scripts
The site loads no external scripts, fonts, or stylesheets. There are no tracking pixels or analytics tools that could interfere with assistive technologies.
Custom error page
A custom 404 page is served for all missing pages, with clear messaging and a route back to the homepage.
Known limitations
Font choice
The site uses Georgia, a serif typeface. The British Dyslexia Association recommends sans-serif fonts. We have made a considered design choice to use Georgia for editorial reasons. Visitors who prefer a different font can override this using browser settings or reader mode.
No dyslexia-friendly mode
We do not currently offer a toggle for a dyslexia-optimised layout (increased letter spacing, alternative font, enhanced line height). This is on our development list.
No BSL or audio content
Our content is text-based. We do not provide British Sign Language interpretation or audio descriptions. Articles can be read aloud by screen readers and browser text-to-speech tools.
Standard we aim for
We aim to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA for all pages on this site. We do not claim full conformance — accessibility is an ongoing commitment. We review this statement whenever the site is updated significantly.
How to report a barrier
If something on this site prevents you from reading or using the content, please tell us:
We aim to respond within five working days. If you need content in a different format, please say so.
Enforcement
If you have reported a problem and are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) or the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
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