Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the Check an early years qualification website.

This website is run by the Department for Education (DfE). We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet (opens in a new tab) has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • screen readers and keyboard navigation do not work correctly on the start date and award date page
  • screen readers do not work correctly on the awarding organisation page
  • some elements on the check answers pages are not fully responsive
  • screen readers do not work correctly on the search results page
  • screen readers do not work correctly with content inside a details component (opens in new tab)

Some documents we link to from the website are in non-HTML formats, for example PDF. Every effort has been made to make these accessible. You can also view DfE's accessible document policy (opens in new tab) to report any problems or request documents in an alternative format.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, email general.EARLY-YEARS-QUALS@education.gov.uk.

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, email general.EARLY-YEARS-QUALS@education.gov.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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (opens in a new tab).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

The Department for Education is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) version 2.2 AA standard, due to the following non-compliances.

Non-accessible content

The content is non-accessible for the following reasons. We identified these issues using the JAWS and VoiceOver screen reader software.

  1. Where there are longer pieces of content, for example on the start page, the screen reader may stop mid sentence. The user can prompt it to continue by pressing a key.

  2. The website contains a large number of acronyms. On some pages, these are read out as single letters, as expected, while on others, they are read as if they were words. For example, NCFE may be read as 'nuhk-fee' instead of 'N, C, F, E'. We are following GOV.UK guidance on the use of acronyms (except where user research indicates greater familiarity with the acronym) and are actively researching technical options to ensure acronyms are consistently read in a way that is most understandable for screen reader users.

  3. We use the GOV.UK details component throughout the website to provide additional useful but non-essential information. The JAWS screen reader software does not identify the leading line which opens the details component as a link, and while users can access the content, it may not be perceivable that there is extra information available. We believe that this is a known issue with the details component. We are monitoring all instances where we are using the details component during our pilot phase and making sure that essential information is available to everyone.

  4. We ask for both the month and year that the qualification was started and awarded on the same page. When two errors occur for either the start date or award date, screen readers read them out as a single item instead of separately. This happens because the error messages in the error summary do not have individual links to their corresponding input fields, making it harder for both screen reader and keyboard navigation users to identify and correct specific errors. We are reviewing how errors are read out and navigated to improve accessibility.

  5. On the search results page, when screen reader users use the search box, the updated number of matching qualifications found is not announced immediately after, making it difficult to perceive changes in results. We are exploring solutions to ensure that updates to the results count are announced dynamically, improving accessibility for screen reader users.

  6. On the check answers pages, the summary list does not adjust correctly on small screens at high zoom levels. Instead of wrapping or resizing properly, the content remains too wide, requiring users to scroll horizontally to read it. We are working to ensure all elements in the summary list are fully responsive and wrap correctly to prevent horizontal scrolling.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 12 March 2025.  

This website was last tested on 11 March 2025. The test was carried out by the Check an early years qualification team.  

Our approach was to test all page types, all error messages and all identified user journeys. We tested the website using:  

  • Dragon speech recognition software
  • JAWS and NVDA screen reader software
  • ZoomText screen magnification software
  • built-in accessibility tools in web browsers on desktop and mobile devices (Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox)

Accessibility statement version: 2.0.0