Accessibility Statement for our Website

This statement outlines the accessibility of our website.

Our Commitment to Accessibility

We strive to make our website accessible to as many users as possible, regardless of their abilities. If you need assistance in adjusting your device for better usability, AbilityNet offers guidance on making digital content more accessible.

How We Enhance Accessibility

We aim to ensure that our website is easy to navigate and understand. We have simplified the language used across the site and are continually working to improve how we present information.

Key Accessibility Features

• Responsive Design: Our website adapts to various screen sizes, making it accessible on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.
• Text Readability: We use clear fonts, high-contrast colours, and allow users to adjust text sizes for better readability.
• Image Titles: Where possible, images and graphics include descriptive alt and Title text to aid users with visual impairments.
• Accessible Forms: Where used, online forms are designed with labels, keyboard navigation support, and validation to ensure ease of use.
• Skip Links: Screen reader users can bypass navigation and go directly to the main content.
• Accessibility Tools: Users may take advantage of our accessibility tool which allows them to make adjustments to the visibility of content in a variety of ways to suit their individual needs.

How we assist those who need support when visiting our website

All visitors to our website can change the accessibility settings to suit their personal requirements. In the lower corner of all web pages visitors will see an icon which they can click in order to make these changes.

Clicking this icon will present a monochrome (or other) tool panel:

As can be seen in the image above, the Accessibility Tools provide the following options:

• invert the page colour to make the background and foreground reversed
• change the colour styling from monochrome to colour so that all coloured elements are rendered in monochrome/greyscale
• apply dark or light contrast to enhance how certain text such as headings and links are seen
• low or high saturation to reduce or increase the vividness of certain colours
• highlight links and headings to surround hyperlinks with clear boxes for ease of identification
• Screen reader that allows users to click on a line of text to have it read to them
• Read mode that sets the layout in a more friendly way to assist those who might find longer lines of text difficult to work with
• Content scaling allows users to zoom the entire page without having to use the browser’s own zoom tools
• Font size allows the user to increase or decrease the size of all text on a page without zooming the page
• Line height allows the user to increase the spacing between lines of text to make it more readable for them
• Letter spacing gives the user the ability to spread it the letters out within words so that the text within a word is easier to read for them

Areas for Improvement

Despite our efforts, some parts of this website may not be fully accessible:

• Some PDF documents may not be fully compatible with screen readers.
• Certain colour combinations may not meet contrast requirements.
• Some hyperlinks may be identified solely by colour.
• Certain images might lack descriptive alt text.
• Some text is presented as images instead of standard text.

Reporting Accessibility Issues

If you encounter any accessibility issues not mentioned above or require content in an alternative format, please contact us:

Email: office@pathfinderschools.org.uk

Phone: 01536 903399

Postal Address: The Bungalow, Loatlands Primary School, Desborough, Northamptonshire NN14 2NJ

We will review your request and respond within 14 days.

Accessibility Compliance

We are committed to meeting the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. We recognise that our website is partially compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 due to the following non-compliances:

Areas of Non-Compliance

• Hyperlinks Identified by Colour: Some links rely solely on colour for identification, and we will review and update these as needed.
• Missing Alternative and Title Text: Some images lack appropriate descriptions and we are working on adding alt and title text to all relevant images.
• Text as Images: Some content is displayed as images rather than selectable text, failing WCAG Criterion 1.4.5. We plan to replace these elements with accessible alternatives over time.

Disproportionate Burden Consideration

Some improvements may be classified as a disproportionate burden due to resource constraints, including:

• Colour Contrast Issues: We recognize that some text does not meet the required contrast ratio (4.5:1). While redesigning elements to align with WCAG Criterion 1.4.3, we will also explore alternative accessibility solutions but our Accessibility Tool referenced above does offer several user controllable options to remedy this to their satisfaction.
• Duplicate or Icon-Based Links: Some links may not have accompanying text or may be duplicated, affecting screen reader navigation. Future updates will address this issue.
• PDF Accessibility: Some PDFs lack proper tagging and structure, making them difficult to read with assistive technologies. Given the large number of documents, a full review would require significant resources. Moving forward, we will ensure new documents meet accessibility standards.

Content Exempt from Accessibility Regulations

• Live Video Streams: We do not provide captions for live video content as it is exempt under current regulations.

Ongoing Commitment

While schools are partially exempt from certain public sector accessibility requirements, we are committed to ensuring that essential content, remains accessible. We will continue making improvements where possible to enhance usability for all users.

We value inclusivity and are dedicated to providing a website that meets the needs of our entire community. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve.

Statement Last Reviewed: 31/01/2025

Transform your future and the lives of young people with expert-led, in-school teacher training, run by Pathfinder Schools Trust in partnership with England-wide education charity Ambition Institute.

• Qualify as a primary teacher in 12 months
• Benefit from evidence-based, flexible learning online and in-person
• Achieve qualified teacher status (QTS) with a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE)
• Gain hands-on classroom experience and start your career with confidence

Pathfinder Schools Trustees have made the difficult decision to transfer all the Pathfinder Schools to other multi academy Trusts and cease the operation of the Trust. As with all of our decisions, the best interests of all our pupils and their education is at the heart.

As you may be aware, in November 2023, Montsaye Academy received a Special Measures judgement from Ofsted.  This led to conversations with the Department for Education (DfE) around the future of the school and the decision was taken to re-broker the school to another multi-academy trust, United Learning. This transfer is due to be finalised in early 2025.

In September 2024, Rothwell Junior School was inspected by Ofsted and received a Special Measures judgement. We share the disappointment of this outcome with the school and can assure you that the strong progress already made at Rothwell Junior School since the inspection continues at pace.

The DfE has issued a Termination Warning Notice (TWN) for Rothwell Junior School. This often leads to a school being re-brokered to another multi-academy trust, and the DfE have advised that for Rothwell Junior School re-brokering will be the likely outcome.

Trustees are unanimous in the view that the decision to transfer our schools to other Trusts will enable each of our schools to be in a Trust where there are greater levels of capacity to support them.  The DfE are aware of these plans and we continue to work closely with them.

At this stage, a new trust/trusts have not been confirmed and we cannot provide a timetable for the transfer of schools.  We anticipate that this will develop at pace throughout the remainder of this academic year.

We remain committed to ensuring that our schools receive the best support possible. We will be working proactively with new partner trusts as these are confirmed to ensure a smooth transition for the maximum benefit to our pupils.

Pathfinder Schools are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS, Reference, Identity, Criminal Record and Medical Checks are mandatory for all posts within Pathfinder Schools.  

Pathfinder Schools is passionate about its values of Aspiration, Responsibility and Courage, we believe that when people feel respected and included they can be more creative, innovative, and successful. We are committed to an inclusive workforce that represents many different cultures, backgrounds and viewpoints. Our employee lifecycle processes are designed to prevent discrimination against our colleagues, regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marital status, ethnicity, age, disability status, or any other aspect which makes them unique. While we have more work to do to advance diversity and inclusion, we’re committed to moving our Trust and the education sector forward.

Many of our staff work flexibly in different ways, including part-time. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

Read what our staff say about working for Pathfinder Schools.

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