What is Accessibility?

Accessibility refers to how easily people with disabilities or additional needs can access, use, and benefit from your services. For children's activity businesses, accessibility spans three main areas: physical accessibility (can families get into and move around your venue?), activity accessibility (can children with different needs participate meaningfully?), and digital accessibility (can families with disabilities navigate your website, booking system, and communications?).

Physical accessibility includes ramp access, accessible toilets, changing facilities suitable for older children with disabilities (Changing Places facilities), appropriate lighting and acoustics, accessible parking, and clear signage. If you hire venues, assess their accessibility before committing and be transparent with families about any limitations. The Equality Act 2010 requires you to make reasonable adjustments — this means you cannot simply say "our venue is not accessible" without considering what changes could be made.

Digital accessibility is increasingly important and legally relevant. Your website and booking system should be usable with screen readers, have sufficient colour contrast, offer text alternatives for images, and be navigable by keyboard alone. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA is the standard to aim for.