Accessibility statement for Helix platform at Imperial

This accessibility statement applies to the HELIX platform, it doesn’t cover any external websites or platforms that we may feature links to.

This platform is run by Imperial College London. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this platform. For example, that means 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/platform using a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website/platform using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made sure the platform text is as simple as possible to understand.

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

How accessible this platform is

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

  • some error messages are not announced by screen readers
  • some non-text elements are missing accessible alternative text
  • some tables are not in an accessible format
  • there are various header issues throughout the platform
  • Keyboard-only navigation is not possible on various pages
  • some form fields are not correctly labelled
  • reflow and contrast issues throughout

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this statement or think parts are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the Service Desk.

If you need information on this platform in a different format, like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact: rdm-enquiries@ic.ac.uk.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in seven business days.

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’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this platform’s accessibility

Imperial is committed to making its platforms accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This platform is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to non-compliances listed below:

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Home page has wrong heading level structure. This may cause supportive technology such as screen readers to have difficulty recognising the information in good order. This fails 2.4.6 Headings and Labels and 1.3.1 Info and relationships Criteria. Imperial plan to add correct heading structure to all pages by July 2026.
  • On Search Page The text "X result(s) found" and the number of records next to search facets do not meet the required contrast ratios, impairing readability for users with low vision. This fails 1.4.3 Contrast minimum criteria. Imperial  plan to implement necessary contrast levels by July 2026.
  • On Search Page, the labels for search facets (e.g., "View all versions", "Access Status", "File type") are not correctly associated with their corresponding input fields. Specifically, the elements lack a for attribute pointing to the id of the input elements. Additionally, some labels are marked with aria-hidden="true", making them inaccessible to screen readers. This fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value criteria. Imperial plan to add accessible text and labels to all non-text elements and clearly define their roles and values accordingly by July 2026.
  • There are various parts that do not feature a clear visible focus indicator. Keyboard users cannot clearly identify focus on checkboxes because there is no visible focus indicator when navigating via keyboard. This fails 2.4.7 Focus visible criteria. Imperial plan to introduce a visible focus indicator across the platform by July 2026.
  • The Search page is missing a Heading. This impacts page structure and navigation for both sighted and screen reader users. This fails 2.4.6 Headings and Labels and 1.3.1. Info and relationships criteria. Imperial plan to introduce a correct heading structure across the platform by July 2026.
  • The Landing page has a missing heading level. On DOI section has a h4 right after h2. This will be confusing for screen reader users as they will assume they may be missing information under h3 level. This impacts page structure and navigation for both sighted and screen reader users too. This fails 2.4.6 Headings and Labels and 1.3.1. Info and relationships criteria. Imperial plan to introduce a correct heading structure across the platform by July 2026.

Disproportionate burden

N/A

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

Imperial and Imperial central ICT department are working towards improving the accessibility levels of this platform.

We are aiming to resolve known issues listed above within the timeline, followed by annual revisits retesting and statement updates.

Imperial has been advised by the tester that the accessibility review on which this statement had been based on, was a preliminary assessment conducted in a limited timeframe. It focused on identifying the most apparent issues. A more comprehensive audit would be required to uncover any less obvious accessibility concerns. Imperial are planning to conduct a full accessibility audit by July 2026 followed by remedial work; all details will be added to this statement once this information is provided by Imperial.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 29/05/2025. It was last reviewed on 19/11/2025.

This platform was last tested internally on 24/04/2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA.

The automated testing was carried out on the Homepage, Search Page, and Record Landing Page at https://icl-invenio-live.uksouth.cloudapp.azure.com/.

The evaluation focused on visual accessibility (contrast, typography), structural integrity (headings, labels), and functionality for screen reader and keyboard users. Mobile accessibility was not within the scope of this assessment. Tools used during the review included the WAVE accessibility evaluation tool, WebAIM’s contrast checker, and Windows Narrator screen reader.

Manual Testing was NOT carried out.

Test environments

Operating systems:

  • Apple Mac Os X (latest version)
  • Microsoft Windows (latest version)
  • Apple IOS (latest version)
  • Google Android (latest version)
  • Google Chrome
  • Windows Edge
  • Safari
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader / Preview on Mac (for PDFs only)

Screen readers and assistive technologies

To achieve the most standard evaluation

To make the most realistic evaluation

  • Graphic adaptations present on the different systems (colours, contrasts, subtitles, etc.)
  • Mouse emulations, magnifiers, and screen keyboards or keyboard improved settings always of the different systems
  • Voiceover - Apple systems only
  • Talkback - Android only
  • NVDA (last version) and Freedom Scientific Jaws (second-to-last version) - PC systems only

Accessibility at Imperial