UK schools should treat website accessibility as a core requirement. Under the Public Sector Bodies accessibility regulations, public-sector websites generally need to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA and publish an accessibility statement. Primary and secondary schools and nurseries are partially exempt, but content people need in order to use school services remains in scope, and partially exempt organisations still need an accessibility statement. Wider equality duties also continue to apply.
What the current UK guidance says
| Question | Practical answer |
|---|---|
| Technical standard | WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the current target in UK government guidance for in-scope public-sector websites. |
| Are schools fully exempt? | No. Primary/secondary schools and nurseries are partially exempt, with service-related content still in scope. |
| Accessibility statement | Partially exempt organisations still need one. |
| Wider legal duties | Equality Act 2010 / relevant equality duties still matter. |
| Testing | Automated checks help, but a detailed accessibility audit may be needed. |
This article is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Schools with uncertainty about how the regulations apply to their specific organisation should seek appropriate legal or accessibility advice.
Aim for WCAG 2.2 AA
Current GOV.UK guidance says public-sector websites and apps meet the legal technical requirement by meeting WCAG 2.2 AA, subject to valid legal exceptions. WCAG organises accessibility around four principles: content and interfaces should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
What that means on a school website
Keyboard navigation
Menus, search, forms, dialogs and interactive controls should be usable without a mouse. Focus should be visible and logical.
Colour and contrast
Brand colours do not override readability. Text, controls and important states need sufficient contrast, including hover and focus treatments.
Forms
Admissions enquiries, contact forms and event registration need clear labels, instructions, error messages and a logical focus order.
Images
Meaningful images need useful alternative text. Decorative images should not create unnecessary noise for screen-reader users.
Headings and page structure
Use semantic headings to represent the structure of the content, not simply because a heading level happens to have the preferred visual size.
Video and audio
Provide captions or equivalent access where important information is communicated through audio.
PDFs are one of the biggest practical risks
Schools publish large numbers of policies, prospectuses, menus, newsletters and forms as PDFs. GOV.UK identifies inaccessible PDF documents as a common accessibility problem. Before uploading another PDF, ask whether the information would work better as a properly structured HTML page.
HTML can also be easier to update, easier to use on a phone, easier for search engines to index and easier for AI systems to retrieve. Accessibility therefore aligns with broader content quality rather than competing with it.
Publish and maintain an accessibility statement
Government guidance says in-scope public-sector bodies need an accessibility statement explaining the accessibility of the service. It also states that partially exempt organisations such as primary and secondary schools or nurseries need to publish a statement.
Automated testing is only the beginning
Automated tools can identify some missing labels, contrast problems and structural errors. They cannot reliably judge whether a complex interaction is understandable or whether a screen-reader user can complete an admissions journey successfully.
GOV.UK guidance therefore describes detailed auditing—performed internally by a suitably skilled team or by a specialist third party—as an appropriate way to test a representative sample against WCAG 2.2 AA.
Accessibility starts before development
Retrofitting accessibility at the end of a project is harder than designing for it from the beginning. Information architecture, colour systems, typography, component behaviour and content structure all create accessibility decisions long before final QA.
Real-project observation: clarity helps everyone
Fhoke’s school projects illustrate why accessibility and good UX tend to reinforce one another. Lionheart uses carefully structured content and predictive search to help families reach information quickly. Bryanston’s move to a bespoke WordPress platform was built around a broader content and admissions strategy rather than treating the site as a static school brochure.
Fhoke’s view
Accessibility should not be a compliance layer bolted onto a finished design. Clear navigation, readable content, useful forms, semantic structure and fewer unnecessary PDFs improve the experience for everyone. For school websites, that also supports admissions, parent communication, search visibility and long-term content management.
For schools, the same principle applies: the website needs to work as a complete, dependable system rather than a collection of individual features. Our school web design work considers accessibility alongside usability, performance, content management and long-term maintenance from the outset. With UK schools expected to meet increasingly important accessibility standards, it is worth understanding what compliance looks like in practice. Our guide to creating WCAG-compliant WordPress sites explores how accessibility can be built into design and development rather than treated as a box to tick after launch.
Sources:
GOV.UK – Understanding accessibility requirements for public sector bodies
GOV.UK – Make your website or app accessible and publish an accessibility statement
