Websites can often include quite small text that most people would find difficult to read.

For some people with a vision impairment, the average text size used on most websites is too small to read easily. We have various tools on this page which allow you to:

• Adjust the colours on the screen to a higher contrast (for low vision users)
• Text size adjustment (to increase the default text size)
• Access keys (keyboard shortcuts for links and accessibility tools)  

Adjusting Text Size

Internet Explorer
To adjust the text size in Internet Explorer, click View in your web browser, select Text Size and adjust to the best size for you (as shown in the diagram below). 

Firefox

To adjust the text size in Firefox hold down the CTRL and + key to enlarge the font, and to rescale it down hold the CTRL and – key.

Changing Background Colour

If you suffer from visual perceptual problems you may wish to change the background colour of pages. It should be noted that this method, although effective for some users, provides only a partial solution to a need for colour overlay, and in some cases it may be necessary to contact your SEN advisor or eyecare practitioner for further advice.

• Click Tools in the toolbar at the top and select Internet Options 
• Select the General tab and click the Accessibility button
• Select the box next to Ignore colors specified by web pages and click OK
• Click Colors (a menu of colours should appear). Select your preferred background colour then click OK.
• Select the Accessibility option. (4 tick boxes will appear). Tick the three boxes listed under the Formatting heading and click OK
• Click OK to confirm the new settings.

To access the background colour settings for alternative web browsers please follow instructions from this page. 

PDFs and Accessibility

To read PDF documents with a screen reader please visit the Access Adobe website which provides useful tools and resources. Adobe also has a free online conversion tool for PDFs

Documents marked .PDF are saved in Portable Document Format. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view all PDF files. The Acrobat Reader software is available for downloading free of charge from the Adobe website. The free Reader allows you to view, navigate, and print PDF files across all major computing platforms. For more information on how to download the Reader, go to our Adobe Acrobat help page.

Adobe's accessibility website is full of information on the features and capabilities of Adobe products that enhance electronic document accessibility for people with disabilities such as blindness, low vision, and motor impairments.

If documents are provided in an alternative format for example MS Word, you can request for the same document to be sent to you in a PDF format. If this is required please email: STEMMentoring@lsnlearning.org.uk.

Still having problems using Starting Out Community?

Everyone using the Starting Out Community has different needs, and we are committed to ensuring that everyone can access and use the website. If you've tried the steps above and are still encountering problems with the site, we would like to hear from you. To contact us, please email: STEMMentoring@lsnlearning.org.uk, with details of the problems you have encountered, and your preferred method of contact. For further information about accessibility and the web please visit www.rnib.org.uk.