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Draft, pending legal review. This document is a working draft that hasn't been signed off by a solicitor yet. It describes how we intend to operate, and we'll update it before launch.

Accessibility statement for BudgetUp

Version 0.2 · Prepared 7 October 2026 · Last reviewed and tested 8 October 2026

This accessibility statement applies to the BudgetUp website and web app, including the free library, games and learner app.

This website is run by Tamsar Global Ltd, trading as BudgetUp. We want as many people as possible to be able to use it. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts using your browser or device settings
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
  • play every 3D mission in a classic, non-3D mode with the same learning
  • use the site with reduced motion, because we respect your device's reduced-motion setting

We've also made the content as simple as possible to understand, and sound is off by default.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • the 3D missions are not fully accessible to screen reader users and need fine movement control, but every mission has a classic mode with the same learning outcomes
  • some arcade games involve fast, real-time action that may be difficult for some people
  • some images may not have text alternatives that fully describe them
  • some text on illustrated or coloured backgrounds may not have enough contrast
  • we haven't yet tested every page with screen readers, speech recognition or 400% zoom, so there may be problems we don't know about

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, email [email protected].

We'll consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days.

If you use BudgetUp through a university, college, council or employer, you can also ask its disability or accessibility team for support, and they can contact us on your behalf.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or think we're not meeting accessibility requirements, email [email protected]. We'll acknowledge your message within 5 working days and tell you what we plan to do.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the "accessibility regulations"). If you're not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

If you're in Northern Ireland and not happy with how we respond to your complaint, you can contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, which is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations in Northern Ireland.

Many of the institutions we're built for are public sector bodies covered by the regulations. Your institution's own complaints process may also apply.

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Tamsar Global Ltd is committed to making its website accessible. We are not a public sector body, but we voluntarily follow the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 because the universities, colleges and councils we build for must.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  1. 3D missions (Freshers' Week, Ronnie's Inbox Invasion and The £600 Question) are drawn on a WebGL canvas. Objects in the 3D world aren't exposed to assistive technology, and moving around needs continuous keyboard or pointer input. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 (non-text content), 2.1.1 (keyboard) in parts, and 4.1.2 (name, role, value). Every mission has a classic mode with the same learning outcomes, built from standard web content. You can choose it from the mission card on the games page or by adding ?mode=classic to the mission's address. We treat classic mode as the conforming alternative version.
  2. Gremlin Survivors (arcade) is a real-time action game drawn on a canvas. It may be difficult or impossible to play with a screen reader, switch access or limited dexterity (1.1.1, 2.1.1). The arcade is optional and the same money concepts (saving and compound interest) are taught in accessible library levels.
  3. Swipe-based games, including Flat Life and some library levels, may rely on swipe gestures in places without an obvious single-tap alternative. This may fail 2.5.7 (dragging movements). We're checking every swipe interaction has buttons.
  4. Images: some illustrations may have alternative text that doesn't fully describe what's important in them (1.1.1). Decorative images are hidden from screen readers.
  5. Colour contrast: automated checks now pass on the pages we tested, in light and dark themes. Text drawn over illustrations, gradients and inside game scenes can't be fully checked automatically, so some of it may still fall below the 4.5:1 contrast ratio (1.4.3). We haven't yet completed a manual contrast audit.
  6. Assistive technology: we haven't yet tested with JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, Dragon or switch access, or checked reflow and text spacing on every page (1.3.1, 1.4.10, 1.4.12, 4.1.2). Automated checks find only some kinds of problem, so there may be issues we haven't found.

We plan to fix these issues, or confirm they meet the standard, through manual testing and an independent audit (see below).

Issues fixed in our 8 October 2026 test

  • In the dark theme, "New" labels on lime green had a contrast ratio of 1.3:1, the closing call-to-action panels on the home and games pages had white text at 2.7:1, and the name label in the home page demo was at 3.2:1. All now pass (1.4.3).
  • The sticky header could cover an item that had keyboard focus. Pages now keep focused items and linked sections clear of the header (2.4.11).

Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.

Content that's not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Links to third-party websites, such as help services, are outside our control. We aim to link only to organisations that publish their own accessibility statements.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

  • Automated accessibility checks (axe) on new pages and components before release, at phone and desktop sizes in light and dark themes
  • Manual testing with screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver), keyboard only, speech recognition and 400% zoom
  • An independent WCAG 2.2 AA audit, after which we'll update our self-assessed Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT 2.5 style)
  • An in-app reduced-motion toggle and a dyslexia-friendly font option
  • Adjustable or switch-off-able timers wherever a game has time pressure, and no time limits in learning
  • Making sure every interactive target is at least 24 by 24 pixels and every drag or swipe has a single-tap alternative

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 7 October 2026. It was last reviewed on 8 October 2026.

This website was last tested on 8 October 2026. The test was a self-assessment carried out by Tamsar Global Ltd. It was not an independent or external audit.

We tested a sample of the most-used pages: the home page, the library, a library topic, a library lesson and the same lesson in the lesson player, the games page, an arcade game (Money Match), joining with a code, onboarding, sign-in, settings, pricing, the learner home and topic map, help, the trust centre, this statement and an organisation page.

We tested each page:

  • with automated checks (axe-core 4.13, run through Playwright in Chromium) against WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 level A and AA rules
  • at a phone size (390 by 844 pixels) and a desktop size (1280 by 900 pixels)
  • in both the light and dark themes, with reduced motion on
  • with a keyboard-only check that every focus stop has a visible focus indicator and isn't hidden by the sticky header

After the fixes listed above, the automated checks found no failures on any tested page at either size or in either theme. Automated tools can only find some accessibility problems, so this doesn't mean the pages fully meet WCAG 2.2 AA. The 3D missions, the canvas arcade games and screen reader use were not covered by this test. Our self-assessed accessibility conformance report gives the result for each success criterion.