Accessibility statement
Many Internet users find websites difficult to use simply because of the way they are designed. We have made every effort to ensure that this website is accessible to as many people as possible. It has been developed and reviewed to comply with Priority 3 of the W3C (World-Wide Web Consortium) web accessibility guidelines. The site has been tested using the Bobby accessibility checker and passes level 3 of the Bobby test.
- Navigation – this has been designed to be simple, intuitive, logical and consistent to help every user find their way around.
- Alt-tags – these have been used for graphic images.
- New browser windows – as far as possible, users are informed where new windows will open. Some logos will link to sites in new browser windows.
- Java – where Javascript has been used it has been made invisible to non-Javascript browsers.
- Online activities – descriptions of the activities are supplied for those users whose browsers cannot support the online activities.
- Mouse-free usability – in all sections other than the online activities sections, the site can be navigated using only the keyboard.
- Downloads – where these may be required (eg to Adobe Acrobat), links to the downloads are supplied.
If you come across a part of our site that is difficult to use, please tell us about it. We intend to keep improving our accessibility – so to help us do it, send us your comments by emailing the administrator.
Access keys
Access keys (keyboard shortcuts) for the Think Energy website are as follows:
- h - Home page
- 1 - Ages 7-11
- 2 - Ages 11-14
- 3 - Ages 14-16
- 4 - Ages 16-18
- p - Parents
- s - Teachers
- c - Contact us
- t - Top tips
- m - Site map
- a - Accessibility
- j - Skip to content
How to use Access Keys
This depends on your operating system and the type and version of your browser:
PC running Windows using Internet Explorer v5+:
Press and hold the ALT key, press the Access Key and then press ENTER.
PC running Windows using Internet Explorer v4.x:
Press and hold the ALT key, press the Access Key of your choice.
PC running Windows using Netscape v6+ or Mozilla:
Press and hold the ALT key, then press the Access Key of your choice.
Macintosh computer using Internet Explorer v5+
Press and hold Control and then press the Access Key.
Please note that Access Keys are not supported by Opera or earlier versions of the above web browsers.
Browser settings
Font size and use of colour has been designed to make the site usable for the majority of users, however, some users may need to alter the size and type of font, and the colour scheme of a page in order to view it. Not all browsers allow you to make changes to the way you view the page, but here are some tips for some simple changes you may be able to make.
Font type and size
For improved visibility you may be able to increase (or decrease) the size of text and alter the choice of font.
Internet Explorer users
To alter the font size:
- Go to 'View', choose 'Text Size' and select the appropriate font size e.g. larger
To alter the choice of font:
- Open your 'Internet Options' window by going to 'View' (or 'Tools' if you have it) and scrolling down
- Under History, choose 'Fonts' and select your preferred style, then click 'OK'
- Go to 'Accessibility' within 'Internet Options' and click on 'Ignore font styles/font sizes specified on Web pages'
- When you click 'OK', this should ensure that the page you are viewing now appears with your specifications
Netscape users
To alter the font size:
- Go to 'View' and then choose 'Increase Font' as many times as you find necessary for the size you want
To alter the choice of font:
- Go to 'Edit', 'Preferences', 'Appearance', 'Fonts' and choose 'Use my default fonts, overriding document-specified fonts'. This will ensure that the set fonts are ignored by your browser
Colour of text and background
You may require specific colours to view the site easily.
Internet Explorer Users
- Go to 'Internet Options' (as above) and choose 'Colors'
- You can change text and background page colour as well as the colour in which links appear, then click 'OK'
- Choose 'Accessibility' from within 'Internet Options' and click on 'Ignore colors specified on Web pages'
- When you click 'OK', this should ensure that the page you are viewing now appears with your specifications
Netscape Users
- Go to ‘Edit’, 'Preferences', 'Appearance', 'Colors' and choose 'Always use my colours, overriding document', then specify your colours
User machine specification for website
- Compatible on PCs and Macs
- Suitable for Windows 95/NT operating system and above
- Browser-safe colours Optimised for 800x600, 8-bit/256 colours
- Processor speed minimum 133Mhz
- No audio or video
- Individual pages/screens are not designed for print-ability unless specifically stated
- Target download time using dial-up connection across V34 standard (28.8Kbps) modem 16 seconds (50k pages). Download times for PDF files may be longer than this
- Microsoft IE browsers, versions 4 and above
- Cross-platform file formats used for content e.g. JPEG, MPEG, GIF, WAV, AVI
- Cross-platform file formats used for downloadable material e.g. RTF, CSV, TIF, PDF
