Accessibility statement for National Museums Scotland websites

This accessibility statement applies to the following websites:

These websites are run by National Museums Scotland.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use these websites. That means you should be able to:

Change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
Navigate most of the website using a keyboard or 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.

How accessible this website is

We’ve designed nms.ac.uk and afnms.org with accessibility in mind, but we know there may still be parts of the websites that are not accessible to everyone. For example:

The main navigation presents barriers to screen-reader and voice activation software users
Some search form date pickers are not keyboard operable and present barriers to screen reader users
Some forms do not display correctly at higher browser magnifications and include interactive elements and placeholder text with insufficient colour contrast
Some images in our online collections do not include alternative text descriptions for screen readers, though alternative text can sometimes be found on the same page
Some 360-degree and 3D digital viewers are difficult for keyboard-only and screen-reader users, though alternative text describing these objects can usually be found on the page.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, or you would like to ask anything or tell us anything about the accessibility of our websites:

Email: info@nms.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 300 123 6789

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in no more than 5 working days in line with our standards of service.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) 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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

National Museums Scotland is committed to making its 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 and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

We are actively working to resolve the following issues by January 2027:

Keyboard navigation and focus: Keyboard users cannot always see which link or button they are focused on (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible). Some forms and popups have an incorrect focus order (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order). Additionally, expandable popovers and sticky header/footer elements can visually obscure the focus indicator (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum)).
Screen reader compatibility: Dropdown menus in the ‘What’s On’ search lack explicit labels (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships).
Links and images: Some images lack text descriptions, and some purely decorative images are not coded to allow screen readers to ignore them (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content).
Colour and contrast: Checkboxes and text inputs sometimes lack sufficient contrast against background colours (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast). Placeholder text in a Contact Us dropdown also fails minimum contrast requirements (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)). The 'Contact Us' form inputs rely purely on a change of colour to indicate focus (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.1 Use of Colour).
Form usability: The 'What’s on' datepicker and Collection Item 'View museum map' link are not keyboard operable (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard). The datepicker lacks instructions on how to select a date range (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions). Furthermore, a Contact Us error message identifies the incorrect text input (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.1 Error Identification).
Display and layout: Price tables and Contact Us Form text clip at high browser magnifications, and gallery images cannot be magnified using browser settings (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow).
Page structuring: The search results page lacks a suitable title (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2 Page Titled).
Timing: The user login timeout cannot be extended or turned off (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable).
Documents: Some PDFs and Word documents are not structured for screen readers (WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value) and lack image descriptions (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content).

We are actively working to resolve the following issues by June 2027:

Keyboard navigation and focus: Some non-visible elements receive keyboard focus (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order).
Screen reader compatibility: Assistive technologies cannot always determine the name, purpose, or state of certain buttons and menus (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value). Incorrect page structuring may make it difficult to navigate headings, lists, tables, and carousels (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships). Screen reader users are not made aware of some updates announcing current item number when using Collection page carousels (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.3 Status Updates)
Links and images: Link names are sometimes too long, unclear, or generic (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)).
Colour and contrast: Keyboard focus indicators sometimes lack sufficient contrast against background colours (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast).
Display and layout: Applying accessible text styles to the Accessibility page heading can split words onto two lines (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.12 Text Spacing).
Page structuring: Collection pages contain unclear headings and input labels (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels).
Third-party tools: The Sketchfab 3D Viewer has keyboard operability, labelling, and structure issues. The Cookiebot banner fails to notify screen readers, does not trap keyboard focus, and breaks layout when magnified (WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.3 Focus Order, 1.4.4 Resize text, and 1.4.10 Reflow). We are awaiting timelines from these suppliers, and if they cannot be fixed by June 2027, we will explore accessible alternative products.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Older Documents: We are not required to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services. These older files may lack proper structure for assistive technologies, image descriptions, or the ability to reflow.
Heritage Collections: The website contains archival imagery that may lack alternative text (failing WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content). While reproductions of heritage collection items are exempt from the regulations, we are dedicated to using emerging technology to improve the accessibility of our heritage collections. In some instances descriptive text is provided in associated captions and text.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are highly committed to providing an inclusive experience for all visitors. We carry out quarterly audits of our content, design, and documents using accessibility consultancy, automated scanning, and user testing to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA or higher.

To further improve our platforms, we are also:

Rolling out accessibility training and guidance to staff who create web content
Raising general accessibility awareness across the organisation
Including transcripts and captioning on all new multimedia production
Auditing and updating PDF and Microsoft Office documents to accessible versions
Updating our procurement policies and contracts for new website developments
Writing new guidelines for external developers
Writing accessibility guidelines into our new digital style guides for current and future developments.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 3 August 2021. It was last reviewed on 14 October 2026.

This website was last tested on 29 July 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

The test was carried out by Accessible by Design. We used a combination of automated testing and manual assessment, checking a representative sample of pages from across the websites.