Accessible Learning Design Programme

Accessible and Inclusive Learning Design

Design learning that more people can access, navigate and use through universal-design principles, accessible content practices and WCAG-aligned digital delivery.

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Course overview

Make accessibility and inclusion part of learning design from the beginning.

Accessible and Inclusive Learning Design helps learning professionals identify barriers that can prevent people from understanding, navigating, participating in or demonstrating learning. It combines universal-design thinking with practical accessibility techniques for documents, slides, media, digital content, activities and assessments.

Participants examine learner variability, inclusive language, structure, contrast, alternatives for visual and audio information, keyboard use, captions, transcripts, link purpose, forms, instructions and assessment flexibility. WCAG 2.2 is used as a relevant reference point for digital content, while the course remains focused on practical learning design rather than web-development compliance alone.

The programme culminates in an accessibility review and improvement plan that can be embedded into design standards, procurement, quality assurance and production workflows.

Learning outcomes

What participants will be able to do.

  • Identify common physical, sensory, cognitive, linguistic and digital learning barriers.
  • Apply universal-design principles to goals, methods, materials and assessment choices.
  • Structure documents and slides for clearer navigation and assistive-technology use.
  • Use headings, reading order, links, colour, contrast, tables and alternative text more effectively.
  • Design audio and video with appropriate captions, transcripts and alternatives.
  • Recognise keyboard, focus, target-size and interaction considerations in digital learning.
  • Write clearer instructions and reduce avoidable complexity and ambiguity.
  • Design inclusive activities and assessments with appropriate flexibility and equivalent evidence.
  • Use automated checks and manual review as complementary accessibility practices.
  • Build accessibility requirements into design standards, procurement and quality assurance.

Who should attend

Designed for professionals who need practical, context-aware L&D capability.

  • Instructional and learning-experience designers.
  • Digital-learning and e-learning teams.
  • Trainers and content developers.
  • Learning-quality, accessibility and inclusion specialists.
  • Academy and L&D leaders responsible for accessible learning standards.

Prerequisites

Professionally relevant and application-focused.

No accessibility certification is required. Participants should bring sample learning materials or digital content for review where possible.

Course structure

A five-Module learning and development journey.

The sequence develops understanding, application and practical outputs progressively across five connected Modules.

1

Module 1

Learner Variability, Inclusion and Universal Design

  • Understanding barriers and learner variability
  • Universal-design principles for learning
  • Inclusive language, representation and participation
  • Accessibility responsibilities across the learning lifecycle
2

Module 2

Accessible Documents, Slides and Visual Content

  • Headings, structure and reading order
  • Colour, contrast and readable visual hierarchy
  • Alternative text, images, diagrams and charts
  • Tables, links and document navigation
3

Module 3

Accessible Multimedia and Digital Interaction

  • Captions, transcripts and audio description awareness
  • Keyboard access, focus and interactive controls
  • WCAG 2.2 principles relevant to learning content
  • Forms, errors, timing and learner support
4

Module 4

Inclusive Activities and Assessment

  • Clear instructions and cognitive accessibility
  • Participation choices and equivalent learning evidence
  • Accessible worksheets, exercises and collaboration
  • Fair assessment and reasonable flexibility
5

Module 5

Accessibility Audit, QA and Governance

  • Automated checks versus manual review
  • Accessibility acceptance criteria and defect logs
  • Procurement, authoring and platform requirements
  • Improvement plan, standards and continuous QA

Learning experience

Move from understanding to application, production and workplace value.

Recognise

Find learning barriers

Review common learner journeys and identify where design choices exclude or disadvantage participants.

Redesign

Improve real materials

Apply practical accessibility techniques to slides, documents, media and activities.

Test

Use multiple review methods

Combine tool-based checks with structured manual inspection and user-centred reasoning.

Integrate

Design inclusively from the start

Embed accessibility into outcomes, content, activities, assessment and platform decisions.

Govern

Make accessibility repeatable

Create checklists, acceptance criteria and ownership that support consistent quality over time.

Completion requirements

Demonstrate participation, application and professional judgement.

  • Complete accessibility barrier and redesign exercises.
  • Review representative slides, documents, media and digital interactions.
  • Apply inclusive assessment and activity-design criteria.
  • Produce an accessibility audit and organisational improvement plan.

Participant outputs

Leave with practical L&D artefacts.

  • Learner-barrier analysis.
  • Accessible slide/document redesign sample.
  • Multimedia accessibility checklist.
  • Inclusive activity/assessment design.
  • Learning accessibility audit.
  • Accessibility QA and governance improvement plan.

Delivery options

Select the learning format that fits your people and development environment.

Instructor-led

Live Classroom

Face-to-face learning with facilitated discussion, design workshops, practical exercises, peer review and immediate feedback.

Instructor-led

Live Virtual Classroom

Interactive online delivery using collaborative workspaces, breakout activities, guided design and live facilitation.

Flexible

Blended Learning

A structured combination of preparation, live sessions, applied assignments, portfolio development and follow-up application.

Organisation-specific

Corporate and In-Company

Tailored delivery using organisational terminology, learning assets, platforms, governance and capability priorities where appropriate.

Frequently asked questions

Course information and participation.

Is this a WCAG certification course?

No. WCAG 2.2 is used as an important reference for digital content, but the course is a broader learning-design programme and does not confer W3C or third-party certification.

Does the course cover accessibility beyond websites?

Yes. It addresses slides, documents, multimedia, activities, assessments, virtual learning and learning-platform interactions.

Do participants need technical web-development skills?

No. The programme is designed for learning professionals and focuses on practical design and quality decisions, with technical escalation where specialist development is required.

Will automated accessibility checkers be enough?

No. The course explains why automated tools are useful but incomplete and combines them with manual review and learner-centred judgement.

Can corporate delivery use our existing learning materials?

Yes. Approved internal materials can be used for accessibility review, redesign and development of organisation-specific standards.

Take the next step

Build accessibility and inclusion into learning quality—not as a late-stage correction.

Discuss a public programme or corporate accessibility cohort using your learning materials, digital platforms and quality standards.

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