Our accessibility and language toolbar

We have added a web accessibility and language toolbar to our website to make it accessible and inclusive for as many people as possible. Our toolbar is a product from Recite Me. 

How do I access the toolbar?

You can open the language and accessibility toolbar by clicking on the "Accessibility and language" button. This appears on the toolbar on the top of every page of our website.

After you click on the button the Recite Me toolbar opens a range of different options for customising how the website looks and how you can access the content. You can close the tool bar by clicking on the red cross or X. 

We have changed the name of the button to 'Accessibility and language', having previously labelled it under its brand name 'Recite Me'. We hope this makes the aim of the button clearer for our users. 

How does the toolbar help me access this website?

The toolbar has a unique range of functions. You can use it to:

• Have the text on our website read aloud (including PDFs)
• Download the text as an MP3 file to play it where and when it suits you
• Change font sizes and colours
• Customise background colour
• Translate text into more than 100 different languages, including including many text to speech voices.
• Access a fully integrated dictionary and thesaurus

Screen reader

The screen reader helps people who are visually impaired or neuro-divergent to perceive and understand our website content.

Key features include:

• All content read aloud in a natural voice
• 64 different language options
• Speed controls and word-by-word highlighting for total customisation
• The Recite Me toolbar allows you to highlight any text and create an MP3 file, which downloads automatically to your computer. Audio is created in a natural-sounding conversational style.

Styling

The website is customisable to a way that works for you. The toolbar from Recite Me supports people who are dyslexic, visually impaired or have a learning disability to change the way our website looks, so you can experience it the way it is intended.

Key features include:

• Text size and colour
• Website background colour
• Text font type, including Open-Dyslexic
• Text only option, where all styling is stripped away. This leaves text only for your viewing, much like a document 

Reading

Reading content online can be a challenge for some people. To simplify and support you to read our content, Recite Me provides four tools. Tools include:

• Ruler - to read line by line with no distractions of what is below
• Reading mask - to mask away 90% of our website, leaving only the information you want to concentrate on
• Magnifier - to zoom in to sections of the text making reading more clearly easier
• Margins - when in text only mode, you can use the margin feature to position content in the best place for you
• You can find out more about how Recite Me works from the Recite Me user guide

Translation

By using the toolbar from Recite Me, you can quickly and easily translate all our website content into over 100 languages, including 64 text to speech voices.  As more community languages become available they will be added to the Recite Me toolbar. 

Below is a video which demonstrates how the translation tool works.

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Can I get support with the Recite Me toolbar?

If you have any questions about Recite Me, you can contact us by email at [email protected]