Accessibility statement for Student Finance Wales website


This accessibility statement applies to the website for Student Finance Wales.

This website is run by The Student Loans Company. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

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

How accessible this website is

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

  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • Some PDF documents may not be fully accessible to screen reader software
  • Some of our online forms may not be fully keyboard accessible
  • Some of our online forms may not be fully accessible to screenreader users
  • When using browser zoom, some content may not display as expected
  • Some of the focus indicators may not have suitable contrast

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: accessibility@slc.co.uk.

If you need information on this website in a different format like braille or large print contact alternative_format_correspondance@slc.co.uk.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

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 website’s accessibility

The Student Loans Company is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

When using browser zoom some content may not display as expected or have insufficient contrast on text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 (reflow), 1.4.3 (contrast) 1.4.4 (resize text), 2.4.3 (focus order) and 2.4.1 focus not obscured).

Some elements are announced by screen readers as interactive with expand and collapse capabilities however do not possess such functionality. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 4.1.2 (name, role, value)

Some link text is different to what is being announced by screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 2.5.3 (label in name).

On mobile view some content may have an unexpected focus order. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (focus order)

The button to toggle to Welsh language is not properly announced by screen readers. This fails success criterion 3.1.2 (language of parts).

Some images on the website such as the ‘Funded by Welsh Government’ logo does not have appropriate alt text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).

Some links have inappropriate use of the ‘title’ attribute or do not announce that the links open in a new tab. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships)

The heading structure on some pages does not match visual presentation. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships)

In the FE calculator, there is no main landmark present, error messages may not be announced by a screen reader, input fields may not be associated with their labels or questions. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships), 3.3.1 (error identification), 4.1.3 (status messages) and 4.1.2 (name, role, value).

Disproportionate burden

PDF documents within this website

The documents published on our website are partially accessible and can be completed digitally, however they may not be fully accessible with all assistive technologies.

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with PDF documents within this website and we believe that fixing the issues within these would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulation.

We are focusing on making future documents as accessible as possible and we will reassess this later in 2024. If you need a copy of any of the documents on our website currently in a more accessible format, please contact accessibility@slc.co.uk.

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.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We expect to resolve the majority of accessibility issues by September 2024 other than those listed under disproportionate burden.

We are actively taking steps to improve the accessibility of our PDF forms and documents, this includes undertaking further training and testing.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 12 February 2024. It was last reviewed on 12 February 2024.

This website was last tested in December 2023 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. The audit was carried out by UserVision using a combination of automated and manual testing techniques to the WCAG 2.2 AA Standard.