In this page:

    Accessibility Statement

    This accessibility statement applies to the MindWell website.

    This website is run by Thrive by Design and Volition on behalf of NHS Leeds CCG. We want as many people as possible in Leeds to be able to use this website. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and aim to achieve the recommended government standard for web accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA).

    As a user with accessible needs, you should be able to:

    • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
    • zoom in up to 400% 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

    We also aim to make the website text as simple as possible to understand.

    If you have a disability, AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use.

    How accessible this website is

    We are committed to making our content fully accessible to screen readers, to do this we:

    • write in short, clear sentences and paragraphs
    • avoid using unnecessarily complex words and phrases
    • add heading levels to all our sub-headings
    • use descriptive and informative page titles
    • do not use abbreviations such as etc, ie, eg, tel and mob
    • create webpages with a logical navigation and reading order and that can be fully navigated using the keyboard 
    • provide concise and meaningful alternative text to non-decorative images and icons (for decorative images, we leave the alt text field blank)
    • provide alternative text descriptions underneath diagrams and infographics
    • provide transcripts and captions on MindWell video content
    • create instructions and action buttons that make sense out of context and don’t rely on sensory information like colour or sound
    • do not use colour or position as the only way of conveying content or distinguishing visual elements
    • make link text meaningful so that it describes what the reader should expect to find when they click it, for example, ‘Read more about support in Leeds’, not ‘Click to read more’
    • do not write out web addresses or URLs 
    • avoid creating pdfs. MindWell does offer some pdfs where there is a clear user need for them. It’s our intention, as far as possible, to make our pdfs accessible and provide html or alternative text descriptions

    We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible, however, for example:

    • currently our worksheet PDF documents are not fully accessible to a screen reader software
    • some videos produced by other organisations do not have a written transcript
    • some aspects of the homepage are not accessible

    Feedback and contact information

    If you need to contact us, please use this form.

    Please note, this email inbox is not monitored every day. We will get back to you in 10 working days.

    If you are not happy with our response you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) which enforces The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).

    Technical information about this website’s accessibility

    MindWell is committed to making its website 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 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.

    Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

    We are aware that some parts of this website are not fully accessible, for example:

    • the website contains a range of third party content including PDF documents that may direct you to a related service, or partner we work with, where we are not responsible for the accessibility of this content
    • currently our worksheet PDF documents are not fully accessible to a screen reader software and we do not provide a html alternative to this type of PDFs.

    Disproportionate burden

    • We have made our self-help PDFs accessible to people using screen readers and created html web page alternatives to these PDFs. We have reviewed our worksheet PDF documents and the cost and time involved with recreating them in an accessible format. We believe that doing so would be a disproportionate burden, especially during the Coronavirus pandemic, within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. From August 2020 we are creating pdf documents that are compliant from the point of creation.

    Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

    The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to the organisation. However, we recognise that there are a number of PDFs from this time period that are important to our website users. From August 2020 we are creating pdf documents that are compliant from the point of creation.

    What we’re doing to improve accessibility

    We have been making improvements to our content to make it more accessible, since the new website went live in April 2021, such as adding alt text descriptions, video captions and transcripts, as recommended by the government standard for web accessibility WCAG 2.1 AA. We continue to work to make all our PDFs as accessible as possible.

    Preparation of this accessibility statement

    This statement was prepared on 21 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 23 August 2022.

    This website was last tested March 2021. The test was carried out by the MindWell team. We selected a representative sample of pages to test based on usage and content type.

    British Sign Language (BSL)

    If you’re a British Sign Language (BSL) user it can be difficult to know where to go to get information to support your mental health. MindWell has a section with BSL videos to help you:

    • Get support from your GP.
    • Get help in a mental health emergency.
    • Find peer support and support groups in Leeds.
    • Find help as an unpaid carer in Leeds.
    • Find organisations in Leeds that support Deaf/deaf people.

    More videos and BSL signed information is planned so please keep checking back.

    The Sign Health website has a range of BSL signed videos about taking care of your wellbeing and mental health.

    Recite Me toolbar

    To make our website more accessible and provide a tailored user experience, we have implemented the Recite Me toolbar. This tool offers a range of features to enhance accessibility and usability.

    Features of the Recite Me toolbar include:

    • Text to Speech: Each word is highlighted as it is read aloud to help you follow along. This feature supports 35 languages.
    • Dyslexia Software: The toolbar includes a range of options to assist users with dyslexia, such as changing the font to OpenDyslexic.
    • Reading Support: Tools like a ruler and reading mask can help guide your reading on the page.
    • Styling Options: Adjust the website’s colour theme, text size, font style, and spacing to suit your visual needs.
    • Translation Tool: Translate the website content into over 100 languages, including 35 text-to-speech voices.

    You can launch the Recite Me toolbar by selecting ‘Accessibility‘ at the top right of any page:

    Accessibility button on desktops
    Accessibility button on desktops
    Accessibility button on mobiles
    Accessibility button on mobiles

    The Accessibility button will open the “Recite Me toolbar” at the top of your screen which will allow you to activate or deactivate the different accessibility options:

    Recite Me Accessibility Toolbar

    The following keyboard shortcuts can also be used when the Recite Me toolbar is open:

    • shift+tab: Move cursor back to toolbar once open
    • tab: Move cursor forward
    • spacebar: Select a button and change toggles
    • ctrl+right: Play next element
    • ctrl+left: Play previous element
    • ctrl+alt+p: Play the current element
    • ctrl+alt+f: Show font menu
    • ctrl+alt+c: Show theme menu
    • ctrl+r: Enable or disable ruler
    • ctrl+d: Enable or disable dictionary
    • ctrl+l: Show translation languages
    • ctrl+x: Enable or disable text-only mode
    • ctrl+m: Show page margin settings
    • ctrl+shift+o: Show or disable settings menu
    • ctrl+s: Save settings

    If you need any help using the toolbar, please refer to the Recite Me User Guide for detailed instructions and support.

    This video explains more about the Recite Me toolbar:

    By implementing the Recite Me toolbar, we hope to make our website a more inclusive digital space. We encourage feedback on the toolbar’s effectiveness and suggestions for further improvements.