Accessibility Statement

Our commitment

Tête-à-Tête is a speaking-practice platform used mostly by school-age students, and we want it to be usable by as many of them as possible, including students with disabilities. We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 level AA over time.

Where we are honestly at

We have run automated accessibility checks, a keyboard-only check and a check of what the website gives screen readers, but we have not completed a full accessibility audit of the website or the mobile app, and we do not claim that Tête-à-Tête fully meets WCAG 2.1 AA. This statement describes what we know today; we will update it as we check more rather than claim conformance we have not verified.

What we have checked:

• We tested the website against WCAG 2.1 levels A and AA with axe-core, an automated testing tool, on 4 September 2026 and again on 15 October 2026. The October check covered every page in our public sitemap plus the sign-in and sign-up pages, at both desktop and phone screen sizes, and the main pages you see once signed in.
• The checks found text with too little colour contrast, some links that could only be told apart by their colour and, on phone screens, some wide tables that could not be scrolled with a keyboard. We fixed these, and the pages we tested now pass the automated checks.
• Automated tools find only some kinds of accessibility problem, so passing them does not mean every barrier has been removed.
• On 15 October 2026 we also went through the website using only a keyboard: every public page at desktop and phone sizes, and the main signed-in pages. We checked that every control can be reached with the Tab key, that you can always see where you are, and that you never get stuck. Some controls could not be reached or used — the account menu, the coaching feedback on/off switch, choosing a picture on a photo card, and a few pop-up windows — and we fixed them.
• On 15 October 2026 we also checked what the website gives screen readers on every public page and the main signed-in pages: page titles, headings, page regions, the names of links, buttons and form fields, image descriptions, and whether French and Spanish text is marked as French or Spanish. We fixed what we found: pages in the app now have their own titles, so moving between them is announced; French and Spanish in practice transcripts, practice cards, reading passages and our guides is marked, so a screen reader reads it with a French or Spanish voice; the speech-speed control has a name; and session results are announced when they appear.

Things the platform does today:

• Practice conversations display text alongside the audio, so what was said in a session can be read as well as heard, and feedback and scores are presented as text.
• The service works across web, iOS and Android, so students can use the device and input method that suits them best.
• There are no flashing animations, no time-limited reading tasks outside the exam formats themselves, and no content that plays audio unexpectedly.

Known limitations:

• The core activity is spoken conversation assessed on speech, which is inherently difficult or unsuitable for some students — for example some deaf or non-speaking students. The GCSE speaking exam itself has access arrangements handled by schools and exam boards; we do not currently replicate those arrangements.
• We have checked what screen readers are given, but we have not yet tested the website with a screen reader in use, such as VoiceOver, NVDA or JAWS.
• Short French or Spanish phrases quoted inside English feedback are still read with an English voice.
• We have run a live practice session using only a keyboard, from choosing the options through to ending it, and fixed what we found. We have not yet done the same with a live mock exam; its screens were checked in their code only.
• The automated checks found no images missing a text description, but they cannot tell whether a description is useful, so some charts and progress visualisations may still be hard to follow without seeing them.
• The iOS and Android apps have not yet had an accessibility audit.

Tell us about a problem

If you or your student hit an accessibility barrier anywhere in Tête-à-Tête, please tell us — real reports are the fastest way problems get fixed, and they also shape which audit work we do first.

We read every report. Where a fix is possible we will make it; where it is not, we will say so honestly and look for an alternative way to help.