The accessibility challenge at Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture in England. It helps people and communities across the country experience and benefit from creativity. Its L&D team provides self-directed learning for staff across the organisation. Much of this content was developed in-house and at pace during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the main priority was to maintain access to learning.
As the organisation reviewed this content, the team recognised that it did not yet have the consistent knowledge or practical confidence needed to assess whether all learning resources were accessible. As a public sector organisation, Arts Council England also needed to understand how accessibility requirements applied to its learning content. In addition, they needed the confidence to identify barriers that might prevent staff from accessing or engaging with it.
The team needed to build capability while continuing to respond to the ongoing demand for learning. They also needed a clearer picture of the accessibility of existing content so that improvements could be prioritised.
What Arts Council England needed
Arts Council England needed a practical approach that would help the L&D team understand accessibility requirements and apply them with confidence.
The organisation needed to:
- build internal capability in accessible and inclusive content design
- understand how WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.2 Level A and AA standards support the accessibility requirements that apply to public sector digital content
- identify barriers within existing eLearning content
- support more informed conversations with external designers and content providers
- establish a stronger foundation for future learning development.
The accessibility audit and DALC Programme solution
Arts Council England addressed these needs through accessibility audits of two existing modules, created in different authoring tools, and by participating in the award-winning Designing Accessible Learning Content (DALC) Programme.
The modules were assessed against WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criteria. This helped Arts Council England understand where its content aligned with recognised accessibility standards and where action was needed to support its public sector regulatory responsibilities.
The DALC Programme complemented the audit by helping the team understand the wider principles behind the findings. Because the programme includes examples and guidance across a range of authoring tools, it supported the team in looking beyond individual tool features and making more informed decisions about accessible structure, colour contrast, imagery, multimedia, navigation and interactions etc.
Together, the audits and programme combined course-specific evidence with broader capability development. The team could address immediate issues within the audited modules while building knowledge that could be applied across other tools, future projects and conversations with external providers.
Turning accessibility knowledge into better content
The accessibility audits identified barriers within each module and highlighted how accessibility issues could vary depending on the tool, the content and the design decisions made during development. The audit findings also gave the wider L&D team a stronger basis for discussing accessibility with internal colleagues and external providers. Conversations could draw on clear expectations, identified barriers and practical examples from Arts Council England’s own content.
Reviewing content created at different stages also allowed the team to compare earlier work with content developed after participation in the DALC Programme. The findings showed a clear improvement in the accessibility of the later content, which provided evidence that the programme’s guidance was being applied in practice.
Key outcomes and impact
The eLearning accessibility audit and DALC Programme helped Arts Council England build greater confidence and capability in accessible learning.
The audit identified barriers in existing content and gave the team clear evidence of where improvements were needed. It also showed that content developed after engagement with the DALC Programme was more accessible than earlier resources, helping demonstrate the practical impact of the learning.
The DALC Programme built on this by developing the knowledge and practical skills needed to make more informed accessibility decisions during design and development. It also supported a clearer shared understanding across the L&D, leading to more confident conversations with colleagues, designers and suppliers.
Although in-house eLearning development is no longer a viable approach for the team, the capability gained continues to provide value. Arts Council England is better equipped to brief external providers, review proposed solutions and ask informed questions about accessibility throughout the development process.
This gives the team greater assurance when commissioning learning and helps keep accessibility visible in discussions about quality, design and delivery.
Key results
The main outcomes achieved through the DALC Programme and eLearning accessibility audit included:
- clearer expectations for the accessibility of future learning content
- accessibility reviews of two modules created in different authoring tools
- identification of barriers within existing eLearning content
- clearer priorities for accessibility improvements
- evidence of improved accessibility after the DALC Programme
- greater confidence in discussing accessible learning
- practical knowledge that could be applied across different tools
- clearer understanding of public sector accessibility responsibilities
- more informed conversations across the L&D team
- clearer accessibility requirements for external providers
- more informed review of supplier-created learning content
- accessibility built into future content briefs and specifications.
