Minister launches online accessibility guidelines

The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) launched an online toolkit on the 14th October which provides practical guidelines for teachers and trainers to make learning materials even more accessible. Now available on the Excellence Gateway is a simple, one-stop shop for resources that merge pegagogical and technical advice where previously these have been scattered over several different channels.

Siôn Simon, MP, Minister for Further Education at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) unveiled these new accessibility guidelines, designed to ensure that teachers and trainers find the right guidance to widen participation and support all learners, at an event at Lewisham College attended by over 90 colleagues from organisations including LSC, The Publishers Association, NIACE, SKILL, LLUK, JISC RSCs, the RNIB, Ofsted and other institutions.

Produced by JISC TechDis, the materials will be available exclusively on the Excellence Gateway - the national online service for those working in the further education system in England. Grouped into eight categories, the resources will enable staff to create effective, engaging and accessible learning materials for learners.

The Minister was joined by Roger McClure, chief executive of LSIS at one of the first events of the new sector-led FE improvement body. Kevin Carey, Director of HumanITy, who advised on the creation of the materials, also gave a speech on the day alongside a learner and a tutor from Lewisham College who spoke of the day-to-day reality of improvements in accessibility. Experts from the Excellence Gateway and JISC TechDis were on hand to showcase the suite of resources.

Siôn Simon, MP, Minister for Further Education said: "The FE sector has, at its core, the needs of learners and these accessibility guidelines will ensure that all learners can unlock their talent in an amazing and innovative way. As the new minister in this area, I would also like to congratulate LSIS which has supported the production of this toolkit and show that, as a newly-formed organisation, it regards equality and diversity as a priority."

Alistair McNaught, senior advisor with JISC TechDis, spent 15 minutes with the Minister taking him through the materials, answering the Ministers enthusiastic questions and also demonstrating other resources such as AccessApps and the newly released Upwardly Mobile DVD.

View the Accessibility in Learning guidelines.