Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the www.sportengland.org website. It doesn't cover the following subdomains:

https://activelives.sportengland.org/
https://activepeople.sportengland.org/
https://evaluationframework.sportengland.org/
https://myapplications.sportengland.org/applicationportal/login/applicationlogin.aspx
https://segments.sportengland.org/index.aspx

This website is run by Sport England, and we want as many people as possible to be able to use it. For example, that means you should be able to:

change colours, contrast levels and fonts
zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen and without content being truncated or overlapping
navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
navigate most of the website using 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.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like large print, or Braille:

email [email protected]
call 08458 508 508.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us using the form on this page, or email us at [email protected].

If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission 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, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

You can contact us by telephone on 0345 8508 508.

Or you can visit us in person, and our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language interpreter. Our office address is:

SportPark

3 Oakwood Drive

Loughborough

Leicestershire

LE11 3QF

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

We're committed to making our website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

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

Non-accessible content

Despite our best efforts to ensure the accessibility of the Sport England website, the content listed below does not fully meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level A and Level AA requirements.

Some third-party tools and interactive content embedded within the website are not fully accessible. These include:

ArcGIS maps and area reports
Highcharts interactive dashboards
Embedded Microsoft Power BI content
Embedded InDesign documents and PDFs
Google Maps and Google reCAPTCHA

These components are provided by third parties and are embedded either within iframes or through server-side integrations. As a result, we have limited ability to modify their underlying accessibility implementation.

The accessibility issues identified include:

Keyboard accessibility:
Some interactive elements (such as maps, filters, overlays, charts and draggable panels) cannot be fully operated using a keyboard alone. This may affect users who rely on keyboard navigation or assistive technologies.
Focus visibility and order:
In some components, keyboard focus is not clearly visible, or focus order is inconsistent, making navigation difficult for keyboard users.
Screen reader compatibility:
Some elements have incomplete or incorrect programmatic information (such as missing or incorrect ARIA roles, labels, or relationships). This can cause screen readers to announce information inconsistently or not at all.
Structure and semantics:
Issues such as missing or incorrect heading markup, table headers, and list semantics may affect users who rely on semantic structure to navigate content.

WCAG 2.2 Level A issues

Keyboard accessibility (WCAG 2.2 – Level A, 2.1.1)

Some interactive features within third-party tools are not fully operable using a keyboard alone. This includes:

Map based interfaces that require mouse interaction
Links or controls that cannot be reached or activated using the keyboard
Interactive chart elements that rely on mouse hover events

This means some content does not fully meet Success Criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).

Programmatic structure and relationships (WCAG 2.2 – Level A, 1.3.1)

Some embedded content does not consistently expose information, structure, or relationships to assistive technologies. Examples include:

Missing or incorrect heading markup
Tables without correctly defined headers or captions
Lists, controls, or regions that are not marked up semantically

These issues may affect users of screen readers and other assistive technologies and impact Success Criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).

Name, role, and value (WCAG 2.2 – Level A, 4.1.2)

In some third-party components:

Controls do not always expose a clear, programmatically determinable name, role, or state
Accessible names do not always align with visible labels
Dynamic interface changes are not consistently communicated to assistive technologies

This affects compliance with Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

WCAG 2.2 Level AA issues

Focus visibility and focus management (WCAG 2.2 – Level AA, 2.4.7 and 2.4.11)

In some interactive tools:

Keyboard focus indicators are not always visible
Focus order may be confusing when dialogs or overlays are opened
Focus may be partially obscured by other content

These issues affect Success Criterion 2.4.7 (Focus Visible) and 2.4.11 (Focus Not Obscured – Minimum).

Use of colour and visual contrast (WCAG 2.2 – Level AA, 1.4.3 and 1.4.11)

Some visual elements do not meet minimum contrast requirements, including:

Text labels and legends on charts and maps
Icons, controls, and data points
Grid lines and interface separators

This may make content difficult to perceive for users with low vision and does not fully meet Success Criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast – Minimum) and 1.4.11 (Non text Contrast).

Resize, zoom, and reflow (WCAG 2.2 – Level AA, 1.4.4 and 1.4.10)

When text is resized or the page is viewed at higher zoom levels:

Some content may be cropped or partially hidden
Horizontal scrolling may be required
Certain controls (such as map or chart toolbars) may not remain fully visible

These issues affect Success Criterion 1.4.4 (Resize Text) and 1.4.10 (Reflow).

Language and status messages (WCAG 2.2 – Level AA, 3.1.2 and 4.1.3)

In some embedded components:

Language changes are not always identified programmatically
Dynamic updates (such as search results updating as you type) are not always announced to screen reader users

This impacts Success Criterion 3.1.2 (Language of Parts) and 4.1.3 (Status Messages).

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

WCAG 2.2: All known non (A and AA) compliances from an accessibility audit in Q4 2025 are being resolved and awaiting a retest in Q1 2026 to confirm these have been successfully resolved.

Disproportionate burden

We've assessed that it would be a disproportionate burden to fix all documents, including PDFs, published on this website since 23 September 2018. You can read our disproportionate burden statement here.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are actively working to improve accessibility and continue to engage with third-party suppliers where possible. While some issues cannot be fully resolved without changes to external platforms, we aim to address accessibility barriers wherever feasible and in line with WCAG 2.2 Level A and Level AA (excluding PDFs).

We also plan to continue testing during 2026-2027 in a programme of continual assessment.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 18 December 2020, and last reviewed and updated on 29^th of January 2026.

This website was last tested in Q4 2025. The test was carried out by Test Partners Ltd.

We followed GOV.UK guidance on deciding how to check this website, as follows:

We used an automated website mapping tool to identify all the pages and documents on the website.
We identified the subdomains that are out of scope and removed all the pages from the page list.
We removed all the documents from the list. It hasn't yet been decided if they'll be fixed immediately, fixed on demand or if either the 'legacy office documents' or 'disproportionate burden' exemptions will continue to be used.
We grouped the remaining pages according to type, such as all the 'News' pages, 'Blog' pages, 'Case studies' etc.
We’ve manually assessed a number of pages from each group to determine the level of consistency within the group and the type of content on those pages.
We’ve manually assessed all the 'unique' pages such as the homepage and 'Contact us' to determine the type of content on those pages.
We’ve identified a minimum representative subset of pages that contain examples of the most common layouts, components and features, including:
- The header and footer
- Important 'unique pages'
- Pages with text content and data tables
- Pages with informational images, images of text and video content
- Interactive elements such as forms, tabbed interfaces, carousels, hide/reveal functionality and content filtering
- AJAX content loading.
We’ve conducted a manual WCAG audit on the representative subset of pages.
We’ve conducted two rounds of fixing and retesting, such that most WCAG non-conformances have been fixed.
Due to a continuous programme of improvement, the website has subsequently undergone significant information architecture and content changes, therefore a further round of auditing and fixing is being done, and retesting is planned in Q3 2025.
When all the non-conformances arising from the manual testing have been fixed, we'll conduct an automated accessibility test of all the pages.
We'll conduct further rounds of fixing and retesting until all the WCAG non-conformances have been fixed.

Alternative formats

All our publications can be made available in an alternative language, in Braille or large print format or on tape if requested. To request this service, please call 03458 508 508.