What Makes an Accessible Environment: Supporting People With a Visual Impairment

• Correct and inclusive signage, inside and outside, helps with navigation.
• Signage should be at eye level and sized to be easily understood by blind and partially sighted users.
• There should be a good colour contrast between words and sign background.
• Tactile signage (read by touch) can be beneficial to people with visual impairments.

• Normally guide dogs are left in a quiet, designated space, for example in an office or behind reception.
• As guide dogs are highly trained, it will have been trained to lie quietlly, perhaps under a table and should not cause any disturbances.
• A bowl of water available to the guide dog is usually all that's needed. Playing with the dog is generally discouraged unless agreed with the owner.
• The owner remains responsible for the dog at all times.

As facilities become increasingly dependent on technology, it is important to consider how accessible this is. This can include things like websites, social media, virtual classrooms and online booking platforms. It may come as a surprise that 98% of websites have content accessibility errors. What's more, 38% of all people with sight loss do not have access to or have never used the internet, according to RNIB.

Consider the following:

• If your activity timetables are accessed online, do you have an alternative format such as a downloadable PDF that can be read using a screen reader?
• Are your bookings taken online? Could you provide an alternative method such as telephone booking for people who may struggle to use the online booking system?