Accessibility specialist assessor role

The role of the accessibility specialist is to ensure that products and websites are usable for everyone.

Why the role exists

As a government department, we need to make sure that our products and websites are accessible. We also need to make sure that our products and websites are compliant with accessibility regulations.

Although user research and design assessors can review how accessible a product or website is, it's not their main professional area of expertise. This is why we’ve introduced the role of the accessibility specialist to the assessment panel.

What the role does

The accessibility specialist works alongside the rest of the assessor panel with a specific focus on accessibility and inclusive design at alpha, beta and live phases.

Due to the low number of accessibility specialists, there will not always be an assessor on every panel.

Accessibility specialists will assess large or complex products or websites.

Assessing accessibility

The accessibility specialist will take an in-depth look at all aspects of accessibility and inclusive design.

They will:

• check research includes users with disabilities and access needs
• ensure there is awareness of accessibility within all professions
• look for evidence of an accessibility audit plan, including details of budget, time and resource
• review accessibility statements (in draft or live), including a plan for when to iterate, and who will be responsible for this
• review planning or managing accessibility issues and prioritisation

Check Service Standard 5 for detailed guidance for what the accessibility specialist will look for by phase.

---

Information about this page

• Created: 12 December 2024
• Last reviewed: 12 December 2024
• Last updated: 12 December 2024
• Reason this page exists: This page exists to help people understand the role of an accessibility specialist in service assessments in DfE.
• Suggest a change or comment: Issue 80