Accessibility Statement

Built for
everyone.

AerEthos is committed to making its website and Vision platform accessible to all users, regardless of ability or technology. This page explains what we do, what we've still to improve, and how to contact us if something isn't working for you.

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Our commitment

AerEthos is committed to ensuring that its website (aerethos.com) and the AerEthos Vision platform are accessible to the widest possible audience, including people with disabilities. We believe that access to school memories should not be limited by ability or technology.

This statement applies to all pages under aerethos.com and all AerEthos Vision hubs (aerethos.com/v/...).

We actively work to ensure our digital content can be used by people who:

  • Use screen readers or other assistive technologies
  • Navigate by keyboard only, without a mouse
  • Use voice recognition software
  • Have low vision or colour blindness
  • Have cognitive or learning differences
  • Use mobile devices or tablets as their primary access method

Standards & conformance

AerEthos aims to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA across all public-facing web content. This is the standard referenced by the European Web Accessibility Directive (EU Directive 2016/2102) and Irish accessibility regulations.

Perceivable
All content can be perceived — text alternatives for images, captions for video, sufficient colour contrast.
✓ Meets AA
Operable
All functionality is operable — keyboard accessible, no seizure-inducing content, enough time to interact.
✓ Meets AA
Understandable
Content is understandable — readable text, predictable navigation, input assistance.
✓ Meets AA
Robust
Content is robust enough to be interpreted by assistive technologies, current and future.
✓ Meets AA

This website was last reviewed for accessibility compliance in March 2026. Compliance is assessed through a combination of automated tooling, manual keyboard testing, and screen reader testing using VoiceOver (macOS/iOS) and NVDA (Windows).

Accessibility features

The following accessibility features are implemented across aerethos.com:

Skip to content
A skip link appears on focus — allows keyboard users to bypass navigation and jump directly to main content.
Semantic HTML
All pages use correct HTML landmarks (header, main, nav, footer, section) so screen readers can navigate by structure.
ARIA labels
Interactive elements that lack visible text labels carry descriptive aria-label attributes. Modal dialogs use aria-modal and aria-label.
Focus indicators
All interactive elements have a visible gold focus ring (3px outline) when focused by keyboard. Focus is never hidden.
Colour contrast
All text meets WCAG AA contrast ratios: body text is at minimum 4.5:1 against background; large text is at minimum 3:1.
Reduced motion
All animations respect the prefers-reduced-motion media query. Motion is disabled site-wide for users who prefer it.
Text resizing
The site uses relative font units (rem, em, clamp). Text can be resized up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
Touch targets
All interactive elements on mobile have a minimum touch target of 44×44px in compliance with WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.5.5.
Alt text
All meaningful images carry descriptive alt text. Decorative images are marked aria-hidden="true".
Language declaration
The HTML lang attribute is set to "en" on all pages so screen readers use the correct language profile.
No auto-play
No video or audio content plays automatically. All media requires user interaction to start.
Form labels
All form inputs have associated visible labels and descriptive aria-describedby attributes for error messages.

Keyboard navigation

All interactive elements on aerethos.com are accessible via keyboard. The following keyboard interactions are supported:

Tab
Move to the next interactive element
Shift+Tab
Move to the previous interactive element
Enter
Activate a link or button
Space
Activate a button; open/close a dropdown
Esc
Close a modal, overlay, or mobile menu
Arrow keys
Navigate within menus, accordions, and tab panels
Home+End
Jump to first/last item in a list or menu

Focus is managed appropriately when modals and overlays open — focus moves to the first interactive element inside the modal and is trapped until the modal is dismissed. When a modal closes, focus returns to the element that triggered it.

Screen reader compatibility

AerEthos has been tested with the following screen reader and browser combinations:

VoiceOver + Safari
macOS 14, iOS 17
✓ Fully supported
NVDA + Chrome
Windows 11
✓ Fully supported
NVDA + Firefox
Windows 11
✓ Fully supported
TalkBack + Chrome
Android 14
✓ Fully supported
JAWS + Chrome
Windows 11
◑ Mostly supported — minor heading navigation quirks noted

Screen reader users can navigate pages by landmark regions, headings (H1–H3), links, and form controls. All page sections carry appropriate ARIA landmark roles. The navigation menu, FAQ accordion, legal collapsibles, and contact forms have been specifically tested for screen reader compatibility.

AerEthos Vision — accessibility

The AerEthos Vision platform (accessible via NFC tap, QR scan, or direct URL) is subject to the same accessibility standards as the main website. Additional notes specific to Vision:

◎
NFC alternative access
All Vision hubs are accessible via direct URL without requiring NFC hardware. QR codes provide a visual scanning alternative. URLs are provided to school coordinators and can be shared directly with students who cannot use NFC.
◈
Video player accessibility
The Vision video player includes keyboard controls (Space to play/pause, arrow keys to seek), visible focus states, and a progress bar accessible to keyboard users. Captions are displayed where caption files are provided by the school.
▣
Photo lightbox
The masonry photo grid and lightbox can be operated by keyboard. Images carry descriptive alt text where provided. The lightbox closes on Escape key press and returns focus to the triggering thumbnail.
◉
Alumni directory search
The searchable alumni directory uses a standard text input with visible label, real-time results announced to screen readers via aria-live, and keyboard-navigable result cards.
⬡
Class playlist
Song cards and the Spotify/Apple Music links are keyboard accessible. External links open in a new tab and carry visible notification of this behaviour via aria-label.

Known issues & roadmap

We are transparent about accessibility limitations we are aware of and actively working to address:

● In progress
Mobile navigation menu
The mobile navigation overlay currently lacks a focus trap — keyboard users can tab outside the open menu. Fix in progress for next release.
● In progress
Custom cursor
The custom gold cursor is a visual enhancement only. It does not affect keyboard or assistive technology use. It is hidden on touch devices automatically.
◑ Planned
PDF yearbook viewer (Vision)
The in-hub PDF viewer relies on browser-native PDF rendering which has variable screen reader support. We plan to add a structured HTML alternative view of yearbook content in a future update.
◑ Planned
WCAG 2.2 conformance
AerEthos currently targets WCAG 2.1 AA. We are working toward WCAG 2.2 AA conformance, including the new success criteria around focus appearance and target size.

We do not consider an accessibility issue "resolved" until it has been retested with assistive technology. If you encounter an issue not listed here, please contact us — we take accessibility feedback seriously and act on it.

Contact & feedback

If you experience any accessibility barrier on aerethos.com or the Vision platform, or if you need content in an alternative format, please contact us:

◉
Email
Preferred method — responds within 24 hours
◈
Postal
Pre-registration — postal address on request
Response commitment
AerEthos will acknowledge all accessibility feedback within 2 working days and provide a substantive response — including a timeline for any fix — within 10 working days. We do not outsource accessibility feedback handling.
If you are not satisfied with our response to an accessibility complaint, you may contact the National Disability Authority (NDA) of Ireland or the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) as relevant. Under the European Web Accessibility Directive, you also have the right to complain to your national enforcement body.
Statement details
This statement was prepared in March 2026 and will be reviewed annually or following significant changes to the website.
Last reviewed: 18 March 2026
Applies to: aerethos.com and all aerethos.com/v/... Vision hubs