How ukwaterpark.org/ Works for Everyone — WCAG 2.1 AA, Equality Act 2010
Our commitment to making the site usable with assistive technology, our target conformance level (WCAG 2.1 AA), the UK legal framework (Equality Act 2010 Part 3, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, BS 8300-2:2018), how to report a barrier, the response time we aim for, and where to escalate to the EHRC or EASS if we have not resolved your issue.
The accessibility of any specific water park, leisure centre or lido is a separate matter, governed by the venue’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 Part 3 (services). For accessibility provisions at a specific venue — pool hoist, Changing Places toilet, accessible parking, induction loop, BSL signage — refer to the venue’s own access statement and to Euan’s Guide and AccessAble. For an unresolved accessibility issue with a venue, the EHRC and the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) are the right escalation routes.
What is on this page
1. Our Commitment
ukwaterpark.org/ is committed to being usable by everyone, including disabled people, older readers, people using assistive technology, and people on low-bandwidth or older devices. We work to make every page meet the published target standard and we treat accessibility barriers reported by readers as priority corrections.
2. UK Legal Framework
| Instrument | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Equality Act 2010, Part 3 (services and public functions) | Service providers must not discriminate against, harass or victimise disabled people; must make reasonable adjustments (sections 20–22 EA 2010) |
| Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) | Regulator with enforcement powers under the Equality Act 2010 |
| BS 8300-2:2018 | British Standard “Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment” — primarily for venues but informative for design principles |
| Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (PSBAR 2018) | Requires public-sector body websites to be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust to WCAG 2.1 AA — not directly applicable to private editorial sites but a useful benchmark we apply voluntarily |
| Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA | The international standard we target |
3. Target Standard — WCAG 2.1 AA
We target conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Level AA. The four guiding principles are:
- Perceivable — information is presented in ways people can perceive (alt text on images; readable colour contrast; structured headings; resizable text)
- Operable — the interface can be operated (keyboard accessible; sufficient timing; no content that triggers seizures)
- Understandable — information and operation are understandable (readable language; predictable navigation; input assistance)
- Robust — content works with current and future user agents and assistive technology (clean, parseable markup)
4. Built-In Features
- Mobile-first responsive design — works from 320px width and up
- 17px minimum body text, scalable using browser zoom
- System fonts — no custom font dependency that could degrade readability
- High-contrast colour palette with text contrast ratios meeting WCAG 2.1 AA
- Semantic HTML structure with proper heading hierarchy
- Descriptive link text — no “click here”
- Alt text on informational images
- Skip-to-content links for keyboard navigation
- No autoplay video or audio
- No content that flashes more than three times per second
- Focus indicators visible on all interactive elements
- Logical reading order when CSS is disabled
5. Assistive Technology Compatibility
We test against widely used assistive technology on UK consumer devices:
- Screen readers: NVDA (Windows), JAWS (Windows), VoiceOver (macOS, iOS), TalkBack (Android), Narrator (Windows)
- Voice control: Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Voice Control (macOS, iOS), Voice Access (Android)
- Magnification: ZoomText, system zoom
- Switch access on iOS and Android
- Browser readability modes (Reader Mode on Safari, Firefox)
- OS-level high-contrast modes (Windows High Contrast, macOS Increase Contrast, iOS/Android contrast settings)
- OS-level “reduce motion” preferences (we honour
prefers-reduced-motion)
6. Known Limitations
We work to a strict standard but we are an editorial publisher, not a specialist accessibility consultancy. Known areas of work-in-progress:
- Older directory entries may not have full ARIA landmark coverage; we are retrofitting
- Some embedded maps come from third-party providers (Google Maps); we link out to the underlying address as an alternative
- Some directory tables may lack a textual alternative for the most complex comparisons; we add textual summaries on report
If you encounter any of these or any other barrier, please tell us — specific reports drive specific fixes.
7. Third-Party Content
The site links to many third-party sources — the HSE, PWTAG, RLSS UK, CIMSPA, the ICO, the CMA, the ASA, individual venue websites, leisure-trust operator estate pages and parent-group websites, Euan’s Guide and AccessAble, local authority leisure portals, and Citizens Advice. We do not control those sites’ accessibility. Many UK water-park venue websites — particularly third-party booking systems integrated into venue sites — do not yet meet WCAG 2.1 AA throughout. We flag accessibility gaps we encounter and encourage operators to address them.
8. How to Report an Accessibility Barrier
If you cannot use a feature of the site with your assistive technology, please email info@ukwaterpark.org with the subject “Accessibility issue” and include:
- The page URL where the problem appears
- The assistive technology you are using (e.g., “NVDA 2023.3 with Firefox on Windows 11”)
- What you tried to do and what happened
- What outcome you expected
- Whether the barrier blocks you completely or merely makes the task harder
We aim to acknowledge accessibility reports within 1 working day and to fix or work around the issue within 1–3 working days. Where a fix requires structural work, we explain the timeline in our acknowledgement.
9. Escalation — EHRC, EASS, Citizens Advice
If we have not resolved your accessibility issue to your satisfaction, you can escalate. The relevant bodies for accessibility issues in the UK include:
| Body | What it does | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) | Regulator with enforcement powers under the Equality Act 2010 | equalityhumanrights.com |
| Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) | Free, confidential advice on equality, human-rights and good-relations issues for individuals in England, Scotland and Wales | 0808 800 0082 (text 0808 800 0084) — equalityadvisoryservice.com |
| Citizens Advice | Initial steer on any consumer or rights issue | 0808 223 1133 (England and Wales) / 0808 164 6000 (Scotland) |
| Equality Commission for Northern Ireland | The equivalent regulator in Northern Ireland | equalityni.org |
10. Review and Continuous Improvement
We review this statement quarterly. We carry out a full accessibility audit annually. Reader-reported barriers are logged and tracked, and the lessons feed into future template work and new directory entries.
11. Contact
For any accessibility question or report, email info@ukwaterpark.org with the subject “Accessibility issue”. For urgent escalation, the EASS helpline (0808 800 0082) is the right starting point.
Report a Barrier
Email info@ukwaterpark.org with the subject “Accessibility issue”. We acknowledge within 1 working day and aim to fix within 1–3 working days.
📧 info@ukwaterpark.org