Accessible and Inclusive Learning Policy

Accessible and Inclusive Learning Policy August 2022

Indielab is committed to ensuring that all participants can equally participate in every aspect of the accelerator process by mainstreaming adjustments in programme delivery.

We aim for our learning environment to be inclusive to all.

Aim

This policy will ensure that Indielab has a clear, consistent, transparent and fair approach to the provision of accessible, inclusive information and communication support to all.

We will strive to exceed the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) and the UK Quality Code, being a champion of accessible and inclusive learning, materials and methods making our programmes accessible.

Scope

The Accessible and Inclusive Learning Policy applies to all provision and all members of the Indielab community including;

  • All members of staff employed by Indielab, including freelance trainers and coaches.

  • All guest speakers

  • All Indielab’s accelerator alumni

Inclusive and accessible materials

All of our learning materials are accessible and usable to all participants but can be particularly beneficial to those with additional needs. We aim to provide adjustments for those programmes with disabled participants in addition to our good working practice which are relevant to all programmes.

As standard, we will provide the following:

All programme digital sessions will have online Zoom automated captions.  Transcript available on request.

  • Programme materials should be available in electronic format.  Requests for other formats will be made available as required.

  • Use of fonts that maximise legibility and readability, e.g. generally a sans serif font.

  • Use of at least 14 point on printed documents, or above 14 point.

  • Use matt not gloss paper

  • Use page numbers

  • Use of good colour-contrast to make all materials more easily readable, particularly relevant to PowerPoint presentations.

  • Provision of audio description of programme materials on request.

 We are aware that additional support can sometimes be needed and will we make available with reasonable notice the following on our Programmes (in person or online). 

·  For participants with visual impairments; audio descriptions, braille documents

·  For participants with learning disabilities and literacy difficulties; audio description, easy read

·  For participants with hearing impairments; British Sign Language, captioning, subtitles

·  For participants with co-ordination difficulties; larger print, audio description

Translation of documents into Welsh language is available on request.

Implementation of the Policy.

The Senior Leadership team are responsible for reviewing the design of the programmes identifying and responding to the needs of participants, and ensuring accessibility for all.  This policy is reviewed on a bi-annual basis.

Participants on Indielab programmes

Participants requesting access support will be supported at all stages of the application process and during the delivery of the programmes. Where practicable and necessary an individual plan will be implemented in agreement with the participant.

All data held by Indielab will be confidential in line with our Privacy/GDPR Policy.

Delivery of Indielab programmes

We use Zoom as our online delivery platform, however, if participants request Teams then we will endeavour to take that into account. We will ensure that additional to the above support we provide, our hosts/speakers and moderators are aware of lip-reading requirements, announcing speaker’s name before conversations and any additional accessibility requirements.

We ensure that all our In-person and Venue attendance is in accessible buildings and offices. We also ensure any catering and refreshments are checked for any special dietary requirements.

Staff Training

Our commitment to developing our staff includes a range of training provision which we provide both internally and externally as well as online and in-person. All our staff are encouraged to attend regular training sessions in equality, diversity and inclusion that are available from our partners and networking organisations, e.g. BECTU training courses.

Website Accessibility

Indielab is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.  We aim to adhere as closely as possible to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0, Level AA), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities. Conformance with these guidelines will help make the website more user friendly to everyone. Whilst Indielab strive to adhere to the guidelines and standards for accessibility, it is not always possible to do so in all areas of the website and we are currently working to achieve this. Be aware that due to the dynamic nature of the website, minor issues may occasionally occur as it is updated regularly. We are continually seeking out solutions that will bring all areas of the site up to the same level of overall web accessibility.

 

If you have any comments and or suggestions relating to improving the accessibility of our site, please don't hesitate to contact us hello@weareindielab.co.uk Your feedback will help us make improvements.