PSS — Person Shaped Support

Accessibility

Accessibility statement

Last updated: 14 July 2026

1. Our commitment to accessibility

At Person Shaped Support (PSS), we are committed to ensuring our website is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. We support people across a wide range of circumstances, and we believe the way people access information about our services should reflect the same values of inclusion and respect that guide everything we do.

We continually work to improve the accessibility and usability of our website and to ensure it meets or exceeds the standards set out in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

This statement applies to content published on psspeople.com.

2. Conformance status

This website has been designed and built with the aim of meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA. While we strive to meet these standards across the entire site, we recognise that some areas do not yet fully conform. Where we are aware of issues, we have listed them below along with our plans to address them.

This statement should not be read as a guarantee of full WCAG 2.2 AA conformance. Accessibility is an ongoing process, and we are committed to identifying and resolving issues as they arise. If you encounter something that isn’t working as it should, we encourage you to get in touch so that we can put it right.

We are also monitoring the development of WCAG 3.0 and will work to incorporate those enhanced guidelines into our accessibility approach as they are finalised and published.

3. Technical standards

Our website is developed following these standards and practices:

  • Accessibility guidelines: WCAG 2.2 (Level AA), with a view toward adopting WCAG 3.0 as it is finalised.
  • Assistive technologies: The site is designed to work with commonly used assistive technologies including screen readers (such as NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver), screen magnification tools, and keyboard-only navigation.
  • Development practices: Accessibility is considered throughout the design, development, and content publishing process. The site was audited against WCAG 2.2 AA by Giant Digital using a combination of automated tools, persona-based testing, and manual expert review.

4. Known limitations

We are aware of the following areas where the site does not yet fully meet WCAG 2.2 AA requirements. We are actively working to resolve each of these.

Navigation not fully keyboard-accessible

The dropdown navigation menus cannot currently be opened or navigated using a keyboard alone. Users who rely on keyboard navigation may not be able to access all areas of the site through the main menu. We are rebuilding the navigation component to be fully keyboard-operable.

WCAG reference: 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

Colour contrast on some elements

Several navigation links, buttons, and content card headings do not meet the minimum colour contrast ratio required by WCAG. This affects readability for users with low vision or colour perception differences. We are reviewing the colour palette to ensure all text and interactive elements meet the required contrast ratios.

WCAG reference: 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA)
Target resolution: August 2026

Focus indicators not sufficiently visible

The site currently relies on browser-default focus indicators, which are not always visible against the site’s backgrounds. Users navigating by keyboard may find it difficult to see which element is currently focused. We are adding custom focus styles across the site.

WCAG reference: 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA)
Target resolution: August 2026

Some interactive elements missing accessible names

The site logo link, search icon, and story carousel navigation buttons do not currently have accessible names. Screen reader users may not be able to identify the purpose of these elements. We are adding appropriate labels to all affected elements.

WCAG reference: 2.4.4 Link Purpose (Level A), 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

Form label issues on the news page

The tag filter controls on the news page have incorrectly associated labels. We are correcting the label associations so that screen reader users can identify each filter option.

WCAG reference: 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

Service cards with identical link text

The service cards on the “How we can help” page all use the same link text (“More information”), making it difficult for screen reader users to distinguish between services. We are updating each card to include the service name in its link text.

WCAG reference: 2.4.4 Link Purpose (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

Some content outside landmark regions

Breadcrumb navigation and some page headings sit outside recognised landmark regions, which means screen reader users navigating by landmark may miss this content. We are wrapping these elements in appropriate landmark regions.

WCAG reference: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

Heading hierarchy issues

Some pages do not follow a sequential heading structure, which can make it harder for screen reader users to navigate and understand the structure of the page. We are reviewing and correcting heading levels across the site.

WCAG reference: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

Publication card links missing descriptive text

Publication cards on several pages have links with no descriptive text. Screen reader users encounter these as unlabelled links. We are updating the publication card template to include meaningful link text.

WCAG reference: 2.4.4 Link Purpose (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

Images missing alternative text

Not all images across the site currently have descriptive alternative text. Without alt text, screen reader users may not understand what an image conveys. We are working with the PSS team to ensure all images have appropriate alt text. The site logo also uses generic alt text (“Logo”) rather than identifying the organisation.

WCAG reference: 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

Links not distinguished from surrounding text

Links within body text are currently distinguished from surrounding text by colour alone. We are adding underlines to all inline text links so they are identifiable without relying on colour perception.

WCAG reference: 1.4.1 Use of Color (Level A)
Target resolution: August 2026

5. Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming disproportionate burden for any aspect of this website.

We are aware that some legacy PDF documents published on the site may not fully meet accessibility standards. All future documents will be published in accessible formats. Where legacy documents contain important information, we will provide accessible alternatives on request.

6. Feedback and contact information

We take accessibility seriously and welcome your feedback. If you experience any difficulty using this website, or if something does not seem to be working as it should with assistive technology, please let us know and we will do our best to resolve it.

  • Email: hello@pss.org.uk
  • Phone: (+44) 0151 702 5555
  • Post: Eleanor Rathbone House, Connect Business Village, 24 Derby Road, Liverpool, L5 9PR

We aim to acknowledge all accessibility-related feedback within 5 working days.

7. Requesting alternative formats

If you need any content from this website in an alternative format — such as large print, audio, easy read, or an accessible document — please contact us using the details above. We will do our best to provide what you need in a reasonable timeframe.

8. Our process and future plans

  • Ongoing audits: We carry out regular accessibility audits using a combination of automated scanning tools (including axe-core and APCA contrast analysis), persona-based testing simulating real user experiences, and manual expert review by our development partner Giant Digital.
  • Training and development: Our development team considers accessibility at every stage of the website’s build and ongoing maintenance.
  • Remediation roadmap: We maintain a prioritised list of accessibility issues and are working through them in order of user impact. The majority of current issues are scheduled for resolution by July 2026, with alt text completion by August 2026.
  • Future standards: We are monitoring the development of WCAG 3.0 and will incorporate its requirements into our accessibility approach as the guidelines are finalised.

9. Reporting and resolving accessibility issues

If you would like to report a specific accessibility issue, please email [client to provide] with as much detail as possible, including the page you were on, what you were trying to do, and the technology you were using. This helps us investigate and resolve problems more quickly.

We aim to acknowledge all accessibility-related feedback within 5 working days and to resolve reported issues as promptly as possible.

10. Legal disclaimer

While we are committed to making our website accessible, some content provided by third parties may not fully conform to WCAG 2.2 or future WCAG 3.0 standards. We work with our providers to improve accessibility wherever possible. This statement does not apply to content not controlled by Person Shaped Support.

11. Additional resources

For more information about web accessibility standards:

Thank you for visiting the PSS website. If something isn’t working as it should, please do get in touch — we want this site to work well for everyone.