Our vision
The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is committed to supporting all children to create their best digital future. We strive to make our website and digital resources accessible to the widest possible audience.
- As a teacher or student, you should be able to navigate most of our digital products and services (including microbit.org, our code editors, and our technical support) using alternative access methods, such as using a screen reader, speech recognition software, or only a keyboard.
- We acknowledge there is always more work to be done. We are actively reviewing our digital products to identify and remove any barriers. For more details see our accessibility roadmap on this page.
- We are actively working with end users to identify and promote best practices in the classroom involving students with varied access needs, including best practices to broaden access to our physical micro:bit device.
- We welcome feedback and requests relating to accessibility, and love to hear case studies of how you have adapted the micro:bit lessons, or have built assistive technology with the micro:bit. See the contact us section of this page for details.
Scope of this accessibility statement
This accessibility statement provides information and guidance relating to the accessibility of our products and services including microbit.org, our code editors, and our technical support.
Specific guidance
If you are working with a particular product, or have students with particular access needs, you may find further information in our accessibility-focused guides.
- Python editor accessibility
- MakeCode editor accessibility
- Support site accessibility [coming in 2024]
- Working with students with visual impairments [coming in 2024]
- Working with students with deafness and hearing loss [coming in 2024]
- Working with students with mobility difficulties [coming in 2024]
This accessibility statement was last reviewed on 14th February 2024 and will be reviewed at least annually.
How to get the best from this website
The site has been designed to enable you to:
- Change colours, contrast, and fonts.
- Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen.
- Navigate the website using the keyboard only, with predictable tab order and visual indicator of focus
- Navigate using speech recognition software.
- Navigate using a screen reader, with the exception of the Microsoft MakeCode block editor.
- Listen to content on our web pages using your device’s inbuilt text to speech or browser plugins like Google Chrome Selection Reader.
- Customise the visual appearance of the website using browser colour schemes or plugins to change the colour.
For information on how to customise your experience of the website, we recommend visiting My Computer, My Way.
Web standards
We strive to meet and exceed Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version (WCAG) 2.1 AA, including testing our websites and apps using only keyboard access, and using a screen reader (typically NVDA). We detail any deviation from WCAG guidelines in the specific guides.
Accessibility issues
Third party integrations
Some parts of our web presence are provided via third party integrations, which we have limited control over.
Support site
We use Freshdesk for our support site and ticketing system. For more information, see the Freshworks accessibility statement.
We are aware of some barriers in using the Freshdesk site and ticketing system. We have more details and recommendations coming soon.
If you are unable to access the support site, you can always contact us by email with your support request.
Professional development courses
Our professional development courses are hosted by Thinkific.
As of January 2024 we have not audited the accessibility of these courses, or the content.
Legacy resources
Some legacy resources may not meet our current accessibility goals. This includes:
- Teacher downloads (PPTX, DOCX etc) produced before 2023.
- Support articles produced before 2023. For more information, see our Support site.
Mobile apps
Our mobile apps are required for transferring code to the micro:bit or data files from the micro:bit on a mobile device (tablet or phone). A cable can be used as an alternative to the mobile app on Android devices but not on Apple iPads or iPhones. We are aware that our mobile apps can be a source of user difficulties. We are working on replacement apps, and as such the existing apps are considered legacy and will not receive accessibility improvements.
Branding colours
We have recently updated our branding colours to adjust the green and blue digital colours to those that meet WCAG contrast requirements at the font sizes we use them at. However, some use of previous green and blue text on a white/off-white background, or white/off-white text on a blue or green background does remain that does not always meet WCAG contrast requirements. We have tested against APCA perceptual contrast tools and believe that these are usually perceptually acceptable at the sizes we use them at. We plan to update our use of green and blue over time to use the new colours and so meet WCAG contrast requirements.
How we test for accessibility
We use a mixture of manual and semi-automated testing, including:
- Automated testing using the following tools
- Running quick manual tests, including:
- Using the HeadingsMap plugin to review page structure
- Changing browser zoom, and changing font size using A+ Font size changer plugin
- Scaling to 320x256 CSS pixels in Chrome Dev Tools
- Navigating the whole page with keyboard only access to check logical ordering and visual focus
- Manual testing with the NVDA screen reader on Windows to test key user workflows
- Where appropriate, for complex web apps, we have conducted user testing with blind individuals
We are updating our internal design processes to ensure we design with accessibility in mind from the outset:
- When designing new areas of the website or web apps, we do a high level accessibility review at the prototype stage to highlight any design considerations before implementation.
- After initial design and before public release we do some follow-up testing, including using a screen reader and various manual tests.
- From time to time we may incorporate more detailed user testing, where an app is particularly complex. For example, we carried out user testing for the micro:bit Python Editor including users with a range of assistive technology (including screen readers, eye control and pointing devices).
If you are using micro:bits with a student group who you think would benefit from improvements and support from the Micro:bit Foundation, contact us for feedback and to potentially be involved in user testing projects.
Accessibility roadmap
We acknowledge there is always more work to be done. We are committed to actively improving the accessibility of our products. As well as continuous reviews of new digital content, we are carrying out the following activities to improve the accessibility of all our products.
In 2024, we are working towards:
- Reviewing hardware accessibility
- Publishing specific guidance on:
- Working with students with visual impairments
- Working with students with deafness and hearing loss
- Working with students with mobility difficulties
- Review of our support site
- Python editor accessibility improvements
- Developing new tools/products with accessibility in mind, reviewing accessibility of these as they launch
Contact us
We are always happy to receive feedback from our users, both good and bad. Please contact us directly at accessibility@microbit.org or via our support site .
In particular, please contact us if you
- Require any of our materials in an alternate format
- Have any feedback on the accessibility of our sites, materials or the micro:bit itself
- Are working with a student with a disability and would like to discuss possible adaptations
- Would like to share feedback or a case study of how you have adapted the micro:bit lessons, or have built assistive technology with the micro:bit.