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As part of our continuous improvement programme and our commitment to be 'Accessible to All' , we are pleased to announce that this website is now speech-enabled. This will allow you to listen to our website rather than having to read it.
Speech enabling has been achieved with the use of Browsealoud 6 software which is in use on over 2000 websites. Browsealoud is a browser plug-in designed for use with Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, also works with Firefox 3.5 and Apple Mac OSX 10.3.9.
If you install Browsealoud on a PC which has a sound card already fitted, it will read the pages on our website out loud to you. Once installed on your PC, Browsealoud will work on any website that is Browsealoud speech-enabled.
Use the following link to see full instructions for carrying out the free Browsealoud download and installation.
For Internet Explorer users; the installation program will place a Browsealoud icon in your Microsoft Windows System Tray which is on the right hand side of your Microsoft Windows Taskbar, which is usually at the bottom right hand corner of your desktop screen (beside the system clock).
Once installed, you can right-click the Browsealoud icon in the System Tray to view and select the Browsealoud control options. As you place your cursor over any webpage text it will be spoken aloud to you. You will also have control over the voice, word pronunciation and speech highlighting.
Speech enabling our website provides an additional way of accessing our content for people who find it hard to read. This includes those with dyslexia or learning difficulties, as well as those for whom English is not their first language, or anyone with a mild visual impairment. It is not designed to replace other screen readers like JAWS.
Browsealoud Version 6 will read every webpage on our site. It can also read pdfs in Adobe Reader Version 9.0 onwards. This meets the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Level A guidelines for accessibility.
For Internet Explorer users; once plugged in, look for the browsealoud icon in your system tray, which is usually at the bottom right hand corner of your screen (beside the system clock). Right click on the icon and choose 'Open Browsealoud options' from the menu.
The 'Speech' tab on the Browsealoud options window enables you to choose a male or female voice, and change the speed of the reader.
To make Browsealoud read the entire webpage from where your cursor points, Select the 'Customise Speech' tab on the Browsealoud options window and check the 'Automatically read next sentence' box. Otherwise Browsealoud will only read individual sentences.
The above instructions may vary for non-Windows web browsers such as Netscape.
For further help and assistance with the Browsealoud product take a look at the Browsealoud FAQs webpage.
We welcome your feedback on the Browsealoud service.