Using This Website

This website is run by Young Archaeologists’ Club. This accessibility statement applies to yac.org.uk

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, this means you should be able to:

  • Change colours, contrast levels and fonts.
  • Zoom in up to 400% without text overlapping.
  • 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 recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

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

AbilityNet 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. In particular:

  • Some PDF documents, including those in the Sessions and Activities section, are not fully accessible to screen reader users
  • Printable PDFs (for example, “Things to do” resources) may not be fully accessible due to a lack of alt text on images or screen reader compatibility
  • We aim to include alternative text for images, but we cannot guarantee that all images have accurate or complete alt text. We are actively working on this.
  • Videos on this website may not have audio description

All videos on our site are hosted on YouTube and include closed captions.

What to Do If You Cannot Access Parts of This Website

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact us at yac@yac-uk.org and let us know:

  • the web address (URL) of the content that you need
  • the details of what is required
  • the format you need
  • your contact name and email address

We will consider your request and aim to respond within five working days.

Reporting Accessibility Problems With This Website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed in this statement, or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us at yac@yac-uk.org

Enforcement Procedure (Public Sector Websites Only)

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 Website’s Accessibility

Young Archaeologists’ Club is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines.

Compliance Status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

The website code and structure meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards. However, not all content has been fully checked for accessibility, and some documents and downloadable resources do not meet accessibility requirements.

Non-Accessible Content

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

  • PDF documents in the Sessions and Activities section are not all accessible to screen reader users (WCAG 1.4.3)
  • Printable PDFs (such as activity sheets) are not accessible (WCAG 1.4.3)
  • Some images on this site are missing alternative text (WCAG 1.1.1)
  • Videos are missing audio descriptions (WCAG 2.11.2.5)

These PDF documents do not meet WCAG 2.2 AA requirements for accessible documents (for example, success criteria relating to text alternatives, structure, and compatibility with assistive technologies).

At present, we do not have the capacity to remediate all existing PDFs, but we will provide alternative formats on request.

Disproportionate Burden

Some aspects of this website cannot be made fully accessible due to disproportionate burden. This means that fixing the issue would place an undue financial or operational strain on the organisation. Examples might include:

  • Making all existing PDFs fully accessible would place a disproportionate burden on the organisation due to the volume of resources, limited staff capacity, and the time required to remediate them.

We will review this position regularly and will aim to improve accessibility in future content wherever possible.

Our full Disproportionate Burden Statement can be found at the end of this page.

Content That’s Not Within the Scope of Accessibility Regulations

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix the following:

  • Maps and mapping services, provided essential information is available in an accessible format elsewhere.
  • PDFs or documents published before 23 September 2018 that are not essential to providing services.
  • Live video streams (though we aim to provide captions where possible).

How We Tested This Website

This website was last tested on 08/01/26. The test was carried out by the communications team at the Council for British Archaeology.

Testing was carried out using:

  • Automated accessibility testing tools
  • Manual checks

The website code has been confirmed as passing WCAG 2.2 AA standards. Content has not been fully audited.

What We Are Doing to Improve Accessibility

We are committed to improving accessibility and will:

  • Aim to ensure new content is accessible wherever possible
  • Provide alternative formats of documents on request

This statement was last updated on 12/01/26.

Disproportionate Burden Statement

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 require public sector bodies, subject to various exemptions and conditions, to:

1. Make public sector websites and mobile applications accessible.

2. Provide an accessibility statement. 

The accessibility regulations state that a public sector body does not need to meet the accessibility requirement if this would put a disproportionate burden on them, provided that a disproportionate burden assessment is undertaken.

The Young Archaeologists’ Club (YAC) has a large library of downloadable PDF resources, including activity sheets and session materials created over many years. At the time of assessment, we have 252 PDFs on our website. These resources were produced by different teams, contributors and volunteers, often using a range of tools and formats that did not consistently support accessible document creation.

Fully remediating all existing PDF documents to meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards would require a substantial investment of time, skills and financial resources. YAC is a small charitable organisation with a limited staff team of 1.2 full-time staff, and relies on a combination of staff time and volunteer support to deliver its activities and maintain its digital content. At present, we do not have the capacity to audit, update and remediate the full archive of PDF materials without significantly impacting our core services and charitable activities.

For these reasons, we consider the remediation of all existing PDF documents to constitute a disproportionate burden at this time.

We are committed to improving accessibility wherever possible. We will:

  • Provide alternative accessible formats of PDF content on request
  • Aim to ensure that newly created resources are more accessible wherever possible
  • Regularly review this position as our resources and capacity change

This disproportionate burden assessment will be reviewed periodically.